Guy's Night Out
by mindmelda
Summary: At your request, the follow up to Sessha's Tired... Sano and Kenshin have an interesting night out, meet some new characters and some old ones. Romance, a little angst, humor(I hope) and adventure.
1. How to corrupt a rouroni

Guy's Night Out  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any characters in Rurouni Kenshin, but I occasionally borrow them for my own selfish purposes. They all belong to rich, litigiously-minded folks who apparently like to be sucked up to in a big way.  
  
Sano: Oi, Gina-sensai, what does "litigious" mean?  
  
Gina-sensai: It means that they'll sue yer ass off given half a chance.  
  
Sano: Gotcha. I'm just a gangster, babe, knock off the fancy talk.  
  
Gina-sensai: Okay, anything for you, rooster-head.  
  
Sano: Jest write the damn story, woman! Kami-sama, you talk too much.  
  
Chapter One  
  
Sanosuke Sagara, former fighter-for-hire, bad-ass, well-known free-loader was walking to his friend's home to pick him up for a night of what he called, "purely male entertainment".  
  
Now, get your mind out of the gutter, he and his friend Kenshin Himura were going out for a night of dice, sake and conversation free from feminine concerns and sensibilities. You know, doing and saying things that women try to pretend men are above, but they're not. Even "nice" men like his buddy Kenshin. Or as he thought of him sometimes, Kenshin no Baka, the worlds most clueless rurouni when it came to flirting, having fun and cutting loose.  
  
That oro-ing paragon of male virtue incarnate. So pure-minded and chivalrous that even the notion of holding a certain cute female kenjitsu instructor's hand made him blush like a pimply faced kid learning the facts of life for the first time.  
  
Sano grinned lasciviously as he strutted along with his usual long-legged strides. "What that guy needs is a little corruption in his life, and I'm just the man for the job." 


	2. Soap opera

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Meanwhile, over at the Kamiya dojo:  
  
"KEN-SHINNN! Where are you?" yelled Kaoru Kamiya, assistant sensai of the Kamiya Kashin Ryu.  
  
The object of this, um, request, was busy doing the laundry, his favorite household chore. It was a warm, sunny day, the spring rains being over with, finally, and he wanted to take advantage of the fact and wash and dry all the linens in the house.  
  
(Author's note: If you've ever been in the Orient, the wet weather there is monsoon-type, meaning that when it rains, its like someone pouring a warmish bucket of water on your head and you're soaked to the skin in about 5 seconds flat. You hang your laundry indoors and hope it dries before it gets musty. I really feel for Kenshin-san, because we had to do the laundry the same way he does it, in a big tub, scrubbing by hand and hang it out. Only fun if you're into chapped hands and a hunched back in a big way. I'll never see what that guy gets out of scrubbing clothes. Yes, they have washing machines there, but this was in the 1960's and I'm giving away my age, damn it.)  
  
"Over here, Kaoru-dono, washing the bedclothes," he called back.  
  
Kaoru was dressed in her training clothes and had a bokken in her hand. "Have you seen that brat, Yahiko? I wanted him to do 200 repetitions of his new exercise today, and he sneaked out on me when I went to attend to something personal."  
  
"No doubt he ran off to the Akabeko to see that waitress girl again, Kaoru- dono. You know he has a little crush on her." Kenshin grinned faintly. More ammunition to tease the boy about later.  
  
"Irresponsible, lovesick puppy!" grumbled Kaoru, "I'm going to make him do 300 repetitions and then sweep the porch and wash it when he shows up."  
  
"Don't be too hard on that boy, Kaoru-dono, he's just at an age," murmured Kenshin, working at a barely noticeable spot on a sheet he was scrubbing.  
  
"Well, if he wants to get any older in good health, he'll quit running out when there's work to be done!" she exclaimed, one hand on her left hip, the bokken poised somewhat threateningly in the other.  
  
"Maa, maa, settle down, Kaoru, look at the bright side. You can sit and keep me company for a bit while I do my work." He smiled and her and patted the step next to him, inviting her to come sit down. How could she resist? She smiled, like a spring storm suddenly clearing and leaving only gentle sunshine, and sat down next to him.  
  
"Ah, you," she murmured, "You always know how to make me glad again."  
  
She looked sideways at him from under her lashes and studied his profile. "So handsome," she thought. "Even when he's doing the household chores, he never seems anything other than manly."  
  
"What are you thinking, Kaoru?" he asked suddenly, feeling that prickle on the back of his neck he always got when someone was staring at him.  
  
Caught staring, she blushed a little, but stammered out, "Uh, uh, nothing, just how much I like sitting with you, enjoying the quiet."  
  
"It is quiet with Yahiko and the other students gone, that it is," he said.  
  
"Yes, very quiet." She looked at her hands and said nothing. Kenshin quit scrubbing and looked up. She sat there with her pretty lips pursed in thought, and his gaze fell upon them. "So lovely," he thought. Even with the faint sheen of her recent exertions on her neck and upper lip and dressed like a boy, she was the most lovely thing he could imagine.  
  
He bent nearer, she looked up into his eyes and their heads came together, her hand came up, caressing his cheek, their lips touching...  
  
"Oi, anyone home, it's me, Sano!" Kenshin groaned and jerked his head back and Kaoru said, "Oh my!" under her breath and jumped up.  
  
"Damnit!" Kenshin thought, "I'm going to pluck that rooster!" He cleared his throat and called back, "We're over here on the back porch, Sano."  
  
Sano sauntered around back to see a furiously blushing Kaoru standing there wringing her hands together as if she were trying to find something to do with them, and his normally amicable buddy Kenshin trying very hard not to look pissed off.  
  
"Caught ya!" he thought, grinning like a fool. He was glad his friends had finally overcome their inhibitions and were starting to show a little of that deep feeling they obviously had for each other.  
  
"About damn time!" he thought. "Kenshin must have the self control of a priest on a pilgrimage. I'd have had to cut my hands and a few other appendages off to live with a gal like Jou-chan for so long and not treat myself to a taste of that."  
  
"Can we do something for you, Sanosuke?" Kenshin asked a tad coolly, trying to be civil. Inwardly, he was cursing his friend's bad timing and it hadn't escaped his notice that Sano was trying to catch his eye with a leer and a wink.  
  
"Jest came over to remind you that we're goin out to have some fun tonight, remember, buddy? And Jou-chan, you promised, Kenshin gets to have a night of fun with his old buddy Sano, right?" he cajoled, trying his best puppy dog look on her. 


	3. Outvoted

Guy's Night Out  
Chapter 3  
  
Kenshin shook his head, "Sessha has to finish this laundry, that I do. I want to get this done while the weather is nice."  
  
"Oh, come on, Kenshin, the laundry will still be here tomorrow, you can do it then," whined Sano. "Besides, it'll do you good to get out and have some fun with yer old buddy Sano. We can't have you getting all domesticated on us now, can we? The next thing I know, you'll be using your sakabattou to cut up vegetables!" he wheedled.  
  
Kaoru jumped in, "Why, Kenshin, I think it would be a great idea for you to get out for one night. You've been working so hard, and I don't want you getting sick from overwork. Everyone needs some fun now and then, Sano is right about that. You never think about your own needs, you baka!"  
  
"Well, sessha is outvoted again, that I am," said Kenshin, smiling his rurouni smile.  
  
"There ya go, pal!" cheered Sano, slapping his friend on the back. "I'll be back fer dinner and then we're going to show this city how the big boys have fun!"  
  
"Sessha is not sure he is ready for all that," demurred Kenshin, " but I suppose a drop or two of sake and some friendly games of chance would be a nice change from scrubbing sheets."  
  
Kaoru put her hands on her hips and said, "And of course, Sanosuke, you're invited for dinner. I'm cooking, though, so the joke's on you! Ha!"  
  
"Kaoru-dono's cooking has improved quite a bit, that it has," said Kenshin proudly. "She's a good student. I've been teaching her a few things."  
  
"I bet that's not all you've been teaching her, you dog," teased Sano.  
  
"SANO, you hentai!" Kaoru squealed, blushing furiously. She raised her bokken and mock-threatened him, and he feinted a punch at her, turned and sped out of the yard.  
  
"I'll be back fer dinner, you two lovebirds!" he yelled as he loped out of the dojo gate, laughing wickedly. 


	4. An unwitting admission

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter Four  
  
"Dinner wasn't too bad, considering it was courtesy of Jou-chan's kitchen skills," Sano said as he rubbed his belly and leaned back, sighing.  
  
"She's gotten better, ne?" asked Kenshin, smiling at Kaoru.  
  
"She's still a busu though!" said Yahiko, around a mouthful of food.  
  
"Like you have eyes for anyone but that waitress girl, Tsubame!" Kaoru retorted.  
  
Yahiko blushed and mumbled something, his mouth too full to be understood.  
  
"Oi, Yahiko, ya kissed her yet, she's a cute little thing, ne?" Sano teased, winking at Kenshin.  
  
If possible, Yahiko turned even redder and choked on his food. Kaoru pounded him on the back and he finally swallowed and caught his breath.  
  
"Here, kid, have a drink of water," offered Sano, "I didn't mean to kill ya."  
  
"I'm going to bed," sulked Yahiko, "you 'grown-ups' can sit here and make fun of me all you want, I don't care."  
  
Yahiko stalked off, still stiff-backed with embarrassment.  
  
"Oi, it's tough to be that age," said Sano, "I remember I was so tall and skinny, girls wouldn't look at me twice. I looked like a scarecrow."  
  
"But see, I turned out to be a rather handsome fellow after all, ne?" Sano puffed out his chest and made mock lecherous eyes at Kaoru.  
  
Kaoru groaned and giggled. "If you say so, rooster head, I see you got over that awful lack of self-confidence too."  
  
"That's for sure," offered Kenshin, laughing "Even my Shishou Hiko-san would be impressed by your conceit!"  
  
"Well, buddy, you ready for fun and games?" asked Sano, standing up and stretching. "I'm itching to get my cup full of sake, my hands on the dice and maybe a smile and a kiss from a pretty girl!"  
  
"Oro!" Kenshin exclaimed, "Sessha assures Kaoru-dono there will be no kisses from pretty girls for this unworthy one!"  
  
"Are you saying that Jou-chan isn't pretty?" asked Sano, raising an eyebrow at Kenshin.  
  
"ORO!" squeaked Kenshin, "Maa, maa, no, sessha mean nothing of the sort. Sessha thinks Kaoru-dono is very pretty, that he does. Beautiful," his voice dropping to a hoarse whisper.  
  
Realizing what he'd been cornered into admitting by his devious friend, and seeing Kaoru's eyes shimmering with emotion at the compliment, Kenshin decided that it was time to surrender and retreat.  
  
"Well, we'll be off now, Kaoru-dono," he squeaked, his voice still an octave too high from embarrassment.  
  
"Have fun, Kenshin, you deserve it," she said sweetly and impulsively leaned over to peck him lightly on the cheek.  
  
This did nothing to help his rising blush, so he grabbed his things and ran out after Sano, who was impatiently waiting on the front porch.  
  
"Do that again to me and you'll be tasting dirt, Rooster!" threatened Kenshin as they walked towards the city.  
  
"Yare, just more fun for me, fighting a worthy opponent is my idea of a good time !" joked Sano, flexing his bandage-wrapped fists and smirking. 


	5. This is Fun?

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter Five  
  
(This fic was inspired by Kitty Katana's review, which was much appreciated, giving credit where credit is due. I'd also like to thank my daughter Sarah for helping me navigate the fanfiction site, and upload my stories, because I'm cursed with a lack of techno-skills.)  
  
Warning, this chapter rated PG-13 for Sano's trash talking. Kiddies under 13, ask your mom to tell you the clean version as she tucks you into bed tonight. The rest of you, enjoy.  
  
"Come on, pal, I know a new place where the dice are hot and so is the sake!" said Sano.  
  
Kenshin lengthened his stride to keep up with his tall, long-legged friend.  
  
"Whatever you say, Sano, I'm not familiar with this part of town," said Kenshin, starting intuitively to survey his surroundings with a fighter's perspective. His eyes were going to places where danger might lurk in the lengthening shadows of twilight before he even was aware of it. Force of habit, he mused to himself.  
  
Other than an occasional evening out with friends at the Akabeko and a few other "incidents" that made it necessary, Kenshin wasn't really one to go prowling around certain areas of Tokyo after dark like his ex-gangster friend obviously was used to doing. The last decade or so of his existence on this earth had made Kenshin acutely grateful not to spend his nights roaming the back alleys and byways of some city like a predatory beast.  
  
Sano probably knew every dive and gambling parlor, from squalid to elegantly appointed, on this side of Tokyo, Kenshin supposed, from his "Zanza" days as a feared fighter for hire.  
  
"What is this place like, Sano? Sessha does not want trouble, that I do not," said Kenshin to his friend.  
  
"Oh, it's a nice enough place, I guess," said Sano. "Not the worst, not the best, but there's always a good game or two going, the serving girls aren't too ugly and the sake is good."  
  
"You're a man of simple needs, my friend, that you are," chuckled Kenshin. "Oi, that's true, pal. Just feed me enough, give me a bit to drink and a warm, shapely woman whose face doesn't scare you in the morning light to warm my bed on a cold and lonely night, and I'm a happy man," laughed Sano.  
  
"Would that 'shapely woman' be Megumi-dono? I've seen the way you look at her when you think I'm unaware," asked Kenshin, suddenly serious.  
  
Sano scowled, "I can't believe I'm getting advice about my love life from a guy who can't even kiss a girl he's lived with for almost two years without turning redder than his hair!"  
  
"I would not like to see Megumi-dono hurt, that I would not," said Kenshin tightly. "She has had enough pain in her life, that she has."  
  
"I know that better than anyone, pal. Jest shuddap about it, will ya? We're trying to have a good time here, aren't we? Don't go and piss me off, now!"  
  
"Very well, that's enough said for now," replied Kenshin.  
  
"Hm, Sano is a big boy, I guess I'm sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong anyway," he thought to himself. "And, I'm as likely to give someone good advice about romance as Shishou Hiko would be begging me for permission to kiss my ass!"  
  
"Here we are, this is it!" exclaimed Sano.  
  
They stood before a smallish establishment, lit up in the growing darkness with colorful lanterns and as Sano had promised, not shabby, not elegant. The sign hanging on the front said, "The White Tiger".  
  
Sano strode in with the air of someone who'd been there before and knew what to expect.  
  
A pretty older serving woman jumped up and went to greet him. She obviously recognized Sano. "Sanosuke-kun, where have you been all these weeks?"she exclaimed warmly as she led him to a table in the back where a game of dice was going on.  
  
"Here and there, Ona, here and there," he said, winking at her, causing her to giggle and lightly slap his arm with her fan. "Oh, you're a naughty one, aren't you? Who's your cute little friend?" she inquired, batting her eyes at Kenshin. "LITTLE!!?" thought Kenshin, indignantly.  
  
"Maa, maa, I think your friend doesn't like me," she pouted with rouged lips. "He's scowling at me like I just poured hot sake in his lap!"  
  
"Nah, Ona, he's just a serious kinda guy, that's why I brought him here. He needs a lesson or two on how to have a good time."  
  
"Well, Sanosuke-kun, I know how to take care of that problem!" She winked at Kenshin, and he barely was able to restrain himself from rolling his eyes in a comical fashion.  
  
In his former life as the Battousai, he had come across that sort of woman often enough, and it was just part of her job to tease and flirt with the customers, make them spend their money and forget their problems for a while.  
  
"Now, now, don't be a sourpuss, sit down and make yourselves comfortable. I'm sure a game will open up soon, and I'll bring you a jug of our best sake." crooned Ona.  
  
"Thanks, Ona, that'd be great," Sano replied. They sat on cushions at the table she'd brought them to, and Sano stretched out his long legs. Kenshin sat down, quietly surveying the establishment from under his fringe of bangs. "RELAX, Kenshin, you look as though you expect an attack from a gang of thugs any minute. Don't you know how to enjoy yourself?"  
  
"Of course I know how to enjoy myself, Sano," he shot back a little too quickly.  
  
"Prove it."  
  
"How?"  
  
"I don't know, stop sitting there like you're waiting to be executed or sumthin!" Sano hissed loudly at him.  
  
A few men at nearby tables looked their way and then politely went back to their conversations.  
  
"Hush, baka, you're drawing unnecessary attention to us," Kenshin hissed back.  
  
"Who gives a shit?" shouted Sano, "We're here to have a good time, not spying for the damned Imperialists or sumthin'!"  
  
You could have heard a pin drop. All eyes were upon Kenshin and Sano, who was still glaring at Kenshin with his mouth open and his fist in the air.  
  
"Who said that?" snarled a rough, drunken voice to their left.  
  
"Here's your sake, all nice and warm," said Ona in a falsely bright voice, coming up on their right.  
  
"I said, who said that!" It was the same voice. Sano closed his mouth and looked. The owner of the voice was a large man dressed in the uniform of the local police. He obviously had had enough sake to make a lesser man cry for his mama.  
  
"I did!" shouted Sano, "Wanna make sumthin of it, ahou?"  
  
The big man staggered to his feet. Sano looked up. It was rare he had to look up to meet someone's eye, but he had to this time. The guy was big. A bit on the fat side, but underneath he was solid muscle. And he was pissed, in more ways than one.  
  
"HOW DARE you say that about the Imperialists!" the man slurred. "What are you, some kind of malcontent, a radical, a seditionist, maybe?" "Look at my back and tell me what I am, you big dumb bastard!" yelled Sano.  
  
Kenshin deftly grabbed the tray of sake from Ona and gently shoved her out of the way. Setting the tray down quickly, he went to stand beside his red-faced friend, who was unwisely turning around to show the drunken cop the "AKU" stenciled on the back of his white gi.  
  
"Sano, stop it, you moron!" he said between his teeth. "I said I didn't want any trouble!"  
  
"I'm not the one making trouble here, Kenshin, it's this rude fat-ass here!"  
  
"FAT-ASS!?? I'll show you my fat ass, you disloyal, spike-haired loud mouth and you're gonna be kissing it before we're done!"  
  
The man charged Sano head-down like a bull, seeking to use his great size to his advantage.  
  
Sano sidestepped him with ease, and as the man charged past him kicked him squarely in the ass with one large bandaged foot. The man hit his head against a wooden support beam and went down like the proverbial ton of bricks.  
  
"Problem solved," he said smugly to Kenshin, who wasn't looking at him, but at the 3 other police officers who had risen from the same table to their left.  
  
"Wrong, rooster-head, problem just beginning," Kenshin said through gritted teeth. It flashed through his mind that at this very minute, he could be home sitting with Kaoru as she quietly did some mending or shared some pleasant observations about her students at the dojo instead of looking up at the faces of three very angry police officers who now had their hands on their weapons.  
  
"Kami-sama, I swear to you that I will never again in my worthless life ever try to have a good time again!" Kenshin thought to himself.  
  
Sano grinned down at his pal and said, "Hey, didn't I say we were going to have fun? Did I lie?" Kenshin slanted his friend a disbelieving look from under his bangs, not taking his focus off the three men. "You've got to be kidding!"  
  
Sano took a fighting stance and beckoned the men to attack. "Give me yer best shot, chickenshits!" he snarled. 


	6. This could get ugly

Guy's Night Out  
Chapter 6  
  
"Your the one that looks like chickenshit!" catcalled back one of the officers. His round moustached face was red with sake and rage. He had a knife in his hand, and began to brandish it threateningly.  
  
"Yeah, we're gonna make you pay for assaulting our friend Tanaka-san." That from another, smaller lean man with a quiet demeanor, his hand holding a pair of nunchako.  
  
"Go for it," Sano retorted, clenching and unclenching his fists.  
  
"Can't we settle this peacefully?" said a deep quiet voice at Sano's side. The other men looked at Kenshin.  
  
"Who are you, little man?" the third officer asked in a cold tone. He was the tallest of the three and had a wide scar on his face that interrupted on of his eyebrows ran down the side of his face, and very short bristly hair. He also had his right hand on a short sword.  
  
"Nobody in particular," replied Kenshin in the same even tone. "Then why should we listen to you?" asked Scarface in an equally threatening monotone.  
  
"Your friend was drunk and started this whole affair," said Kenshin coldly. "Why don't you take him to a doctor and forget this matter? My friend and I are willing to pay for his medical care to make amends."  
  
Just then, a man in an expensive looking Western-style suit appeared in one of the back doorways of The White Tiger. Slicked back hair, a handsome broad face, smoking a cigarette in a holder.  
  
"I'm the proprietor of this establishment, take your quarrel outside." He said in a bored, silky voice. "I don't need this kind of garbage going on in my place and I have connections with the police." He looked at the three officers, "I know your boss, and he'll be annoyed to hear his officers are brawling with gangsters and lowlifes off duty."  
  
"Would that be Fujita-san?" asked Kenshin of the man.  
  
"Aa," he replied. "He's a friend of mine, more or less."  
  
"We'll take this outside, then, sir. No need to involve Fujita-san in this."  
  
"You're Himura Kenshin, aren't you?" asked the man, taking his cigarette holder out of his mouth and blowing a stream of smoke lazily out of his nostrils.  
  
"Aa," answered Kenshin curtly.  
  
"And this stupid, loud-mouthed fellow must be Sagara Sanosuke." The man said with a smirk on his face. "Fujita-san has made mention of you two fellows. He says that although Sagara-san is a moron, he does fight exceptionally well and as for you, Himura-san, your skills with a sword are practically legendary."  
  
"Himura-san?" exclaimed Scarface. "You're Himura Kenshin, the Battousai?" He seemed baffled.  
  
"I no longer go by that name," replied Kenshin, his eyes flashing a little.  
  
The three officers stood there staring at Kenshin, who was beginning to feel uncomfortable under their puzzled scrutiny.  
  
"Is there something wrong?" he asked in a coldly polite tone.  
  
"No, no, it's nothing," replied Scarface. "It's, ah, just that you're not what I imagined."  
  
Kenshin bit the inside of his lip to keep from smirking. "What were you expecting?" he thought, "a ten foot monster with flaming yellow eyes?"  
  
"Does this mean we're not gonna fight?" asked Sano, looking openly disappointed.  
  
"Apparently not," said Kenshin, "It seems these fellows have changed their minds about that."  
  
"We'll see," blared the officer with the moustache. He was just drunk enough to be foolhardy.  
  
He and the other officers tossed some money on the table to cover their tab, and proceeded to collect their friend Tanaka, who was starting to come to, groaning and holding his bloody forehead. They pulled him to his feet and half-walked, half-carried him to the door.  
  
"Well, now that that's settled, you gentlemen are welcome to partake of my hospitality. My name is Sagawa Tachoiya. Enjoy yourselves." He turned and went back through the doorway.  
  
Ona appeared again, "There is a gentlemen at another table who wishes you to join him for a drink." She gestured to a painted screen in the back of the room, apparently a private area for special guests.  
  
"Did he give his name?" asked Kenshin.  
  
"I believe he is an aquaintaince of Sagawa-san," said Ona. "He comes here often, but always sits in the private guest area. A man of some importance, no doubt."  
  
Curious, Kenshin told her, "We'll accept his offer, Ona-dono, thank you very much."  
  
Sano said, "Oi, sure, anything for free sake."  
  
They followed Ona to the back of the room, and she folded back the screen to allow them into the private area.  
  
Kenshin's and Sano's faces both wore an incredulous expression as they found themselves looking into the narrow golden eyes and wolfish grin of Saitou Hajime. 


	7. A wolfish proposition

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter 7  
  
(AN: Yes, I just had to bring Saitou into my story. He was created to be hated, no doubt, but he cracks me up. He's rather fascinating and even if you hate his guts for the way he treats our heroes, you gotta admit, he's a witty bastard. Who could resist writing a scene between him and Sano? Their hilarious exchanges in the manga during the Kyoto arc are some of my favorite RK moments. By the way, the name "Kageboushi" means "shadow man", fitting for my villain, I thought. Eep, my story is turning PG-13, be warned, kiddies!)  
  
"Sit down, Himura and you too, ahou."  
  
Kenshin shook his head. "I don't know if we should sit with you, Fujita. After all, we're just a couple of 'lowlifes'. Aren't you afraid for your reputation being seen with the likes of us?"  
  
"Bring us more sake, and be quick about it, woman." Saitou ordered. Ona nodded and hurried away.  
  
"Saitou, you bastard, what are you doing, spying on us?" hissed Sano.  
  
"Glad to see me, ahou?" smirked Saitou.  
  
"Yeah, sure, like I enjoy bamboo slivers driven under my fingernails" retorted Sano sarcastically.  
  
"That could be arranged," Saitou murmured silkily. Sano glared at him from under his red headband, mouth opening to trade another insult.  
  
"Enough of that, Sanosuke." Kenshin folded his legs under him and lowered himself to one of the cushions opposite Saitou.  
  
"What do you want?" he queried in a level tone, meeting the eyes of the wolfish man.  
  
Sano exhaled his anger and likewise sat across from Saitou, his eyes never leaving the face of the man he thoroughly disliked.  
  
"A proposition, Himura. You too, ahou, if you wish to make a living by honorable means for change." Sano bristled, but Kenshin placed a hand on his arm, silencing him before he could retort to the taunt.  
  
"What?" Kenshin asked shortly.  
  
"As you already know, The White Tiger bakuchiyadi(gambling parlor) is owned by Sagawa-san, who also happens to be my cousin. He also does a good job of keeping me abreast of, shall we say, certain developments, in this part of Tokyo."  
  
"An informant, then," said Sano, starting to be interested in spite of himself.  
  
"Yes, an informant. He has discovered that there is a traitor among my own men, someone who sells information to the gangsters in this part of the city so that they can evade our investigations. I suspect it may be one or more of the four men you had your little 'encounter' with just now. In fact I was here tonight to see if Sagawa had overheard anything of value. Those four come here frequently and they seem to meet the same man almost every time. He's ordinary looking, wears Western clothing. Nothing really distinguishing. I'm sure he's a contact for a gangster boss only known to us as Kageboushi. "  
  
"Kageboushi," repeated Sano. "Wait, I'm sure I've heard that name before. No one seems to know much about him, though."  
  
"Exactly." murmured Saitou, lighting a cigarette from the oil lamp's flame at the table and inhaling deeply. Kenshin's nose twitched at the acrid smell of burning tobacco.  
  
"How does his poor wife stand the smell?" he wondered, not for the first time.  
  
Sano sneered at the white-gloved police officer. "One of these days, yer gonna set yer hair on fire with those things. I just pray to all the gods I'm there to see it."  
  
"My only vice, I assure you, Sagara, unlike some people who seem to go out of their way to acquire as many as possible in a lifetime."  
  
"Yer just jealous because I know how to enjoy life, you spider-haired freak!" retorted Sano.  
  
"I wouldn't bring up the subject of hair if I were you, ahou. The last time I saw hair like yours, the person in question had been hit by lightening."  
  
"Can we get back to the reason we're having this conversation?" Kenshin said, rolling his eyes in disgust and clicking his tongue at them.  
  
"Very well. Tell your moronic friend to hold his wagging tongue and I'll continue."  
  
He took another deep drag on his cigarette and cleared his throat into a gloved hand.  
  
"Kageboushi is deeply involved in the opium trade, that we know. His name has been on a few letters we've intercepted from those who deal in it. What I want you to do is observe Tanaka, Furukizo, Hanahige, and Saiyou , those four you just argued with, and discover where their contact goes from here. Perhaps if we can find out who he in turn reports to, we'll be able to get a lead as to who exactly this Kageboushi really is. My men are too well known in the city to accomplish this and besides, none of them has the skills to do this sort of thing."  
  
"What's in it fer us?" asked Sano, yawning into Saitou's face.  
  
"You mean besides something to do besides fight, drink, and gamble your worthless life away? My department pays its informants well. "  
  
"Now yer talkin', kumo(spider). Money talks, and bullshit walks."  
  
"Ah, more moronic babbling from the mouth of Sagara. Please spare me. I have children at home who make more sense."  
  
"You have kids!!?" Sano and Kenshin said together, their eyes bugging out and mouths hanging open.  
  
"Yes, of course, I've been married for years, not that it's any of your business."  
  
Sano had a frightening vision of little Saitou's running around with cigarettes in their mouths, demonic amber eyes, torturing their playmates for information and smirking into their frightened faces.  
  
"Kuso, that's the scariest thing I've heard in months. I'm gonna have nightmares!" muttered Sano under his breath.  
  
"So, are you two willing to do this for the department? Decide, one way or the other, it makes no difference to me, but I must know quickly." Saitou took another drag of his cigarette, the smoke curling up in the lamplight, his eyes narrowing in enjoyment of his addiction.  
  
"Well, count me in, I guess," said Sano, "It's not like I have anything better to do. Sounds like an fast way to make some nomishiro(drinking money)."  
  
Kenshin frowned. "Very well, agreed. It seems like an easy enough task to accomplish and I'm sure Kaoru-dono will find a use for the extra money."  
  
Saitou grinned at Kenshin. "Still mooning over that Kamiya girl like some moonstruck adolescent, Himura? Why don't you just ask her to marry you and get it over with? You lack courage in matters of romance, Himura. The heart of a woman is the only thing you fear, and your fear makes you foolish."  
  
Kenshin's eyes narrowed and flashed a dangerous amber color. He clenched his hand around the hilt of his sakabattou in reflex. "I'll thank you to keep your filthy mouth shut about matters you know nothing about."  
  
Sanosuke felt his friend ready to explode next to him, and decided it was time to intercede. He didn't mind fighting the spider-haired bastard, but secretly, he agreed with Saitou. "Well, that makes twice in a lifetime," he mused.  
  
"Come on, Kenshin, ignore him, he's a jerk. I'm curious to find out who this Kageboushi is myself. I hate drug dealers, they're complete scum."  
  
"Very well, Sano," Kenshin replied, his voice still hard and deep.  
  
Sano grabbed the cup of sake in front of him, now cooled a bit, and downed it. "No sense wasting this meishu(choice sake)," he said, pouring himself more. 


	8. Homecomings

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter 8 (AN: This chapter will get a bit lime-scented, but no lemons, I promise, gentle readers. I like a well-written one as good as the next hentai, but I've already upgraded my rating once! Some necessary translations: nushi- lover, itoshii-lovely, sousou, "oh yes").  
  
Taking their leave of Saitou Hajime, AKA Fujita Gorou, Sanosuke and Kenshin stayed for a few games of chance, but their attention to the game was disturbed by the information they'd gotten from the policeman.(Sano was losing badly anyway, as usual.) Having had more than enough "entertainment" for one evening, Kenshin desperately wanted nothing more than a hot bath.  
  
As he and Sano walked home through the darkened streets of Tokyo, he went over the conversation with Saitou at The White Tiger again in his mind.  
  
"Uh, Kenshin, I'll let you go it alone from here, I have a little appointment to keep before I go home."  
  
"Megume-dono," Kenshin guessed to himself, but kept his mouth shut. He'd already gotten on his friend's bad side earlier about the subject and was loathe to bring it up again.  
  
"Certainly, Sano, keep your 'appointment,'" he said.  
  
Sano strode off into the darkness, in the general direction of the little street where Megumi rented a small house near the clinic of Genzai-sensai.  
  
"I was right about those two," Kenshin mused. He was not a judgmental man. "Precious little happiness in the world, I suppose, and none of my business anyway" he sighed.  
  
His thoughts turned towards home. Who and what waited for him there. He smiled in the darkness and quickened his step.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sano felt his heart quicken as he approached Megumi's house. There was a small light burning in the back room, he saw. "Good, she's still awake," he thought. Gone were the days when he had to use treating his inevitable cuts and bruises as an excuse to visit her. He chuckled to himself.  
  
"Good thing, I don't know how many stupid fights I started just to have a reason to drag my sorry ass over to the clinic."  
  
He tapped lightly on the door. "Hey, Megumi, it's me," he hissed.  
  
She opened the door and peered out. "Come in quickly," she whispered, "It got so late, I was wondering if I should just go on to bed."  
  
He grinned, white teeth flashing in the dimness, "Not without me, koibito."  
  
She pulled him inside, stifling a giggle. "Ah, nushi, I don't have to be at the clinic tomorrow, Genzai-sensai won't mind, not many patients scheduled, I already asked."  
  
"Good, because we won't be doing much sleeping tonight, kitsune, that I can promise you."  
  
"Big talk, but can you deliver on that promise?" she asked archly, flipping back her hair.  
  
He grabbed her gently by the shoulders and looked down at her with twinkling eyes, "Ah, kitsune, you know better than to challenge Sagara Sanosuke to a contest of endurance!" he joked.  
  
She pressed her hands against the muscular planes of his chest. "Yes, you do seem strong enough, nushi." She raised her mouth to receive his impassioned kiss. "Itoshii" he whispered against her mouth as his hands reached around her waist and then lowered to caress her more intimately. Pulling her closer, he began to kiss her neck with an open mouth, nipping her until she gasped.  
  
"Don't you think we should do this somewhere more comfortable, koishii, I don't want to end up on the hard floor again," she breathed into his hair.  
  
He stopped long enough to pick her up and carry her to the bedroom.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Kenshin slid the door open quietly, not wanting to wake Kaoru or Yahiko.  
  
"Gods, I need a bath, I reek of Saitou's cigarettes and street dirt," he thought.  
  
"Kenshin, is that you?" he heard a voice ask softly.  
  
Kaoru had waited up for him! Mildly surprised, he whispered back "Sousou, it's me, Kaoru-dono."  
  
"Did you have fun, Kenshin?" she whispered back.  
  
"Uh, well, I suppose," he replied in an uncertain voice.  
  
"You don't sound very sure about that," Kaoru said.  
  
"Let's go out on the back porch so we don't wake Yahiko," Kenshin said to her in a low voice, "I want to heat some bath water anyway."  
  
"Okay, I'll help you," she said, "I'm not sleepy anyway."  
  
As he started a fire to heat the water, she asked him again, "So, was your evening out everything you hoped for, Kenshin?"  
  
He sighed. "Not really, Kaoru, I would have preferred to stay home and enjoy a quiet evening with you and Yahiko."  
  
She drew closer to him. "I'm so sorry to hear that. There weren't any problems, were there?"  
  
"Nothing serious, just the usual Sagara Sanosuke evening out on the town," Kenshin snickered softly. "But, we did run into Saitou Hajime, he had a drink or two with us."  
  
"You're joking!" gasped Kaoru.  
  
"No, sessha is not joking with you, that I am not," he replied. "Do you know he has children?" asked Kenshin, shaking his head.  
  
"Ittai!" she gasped again. "Who would have thought it?"  
  
"Well, Kaoru, he is married, after all."  
  
"Still, hard to believe," she said. "I don't know if I can picture Saitou as a papa!" She giggled at the mental image of Saitou, the former Wolf of Mibu bouncing a baby on his knee and chucking it under the chin.  
  
"It does stretch the imagination somewhat, that it does," chuckled Kenshin.  
  
"But, you like children, Kenshin. Suzame and Ayume adore you. You're so good with them, so kind and patient."  
  
"And you're thinking 'How can a man with so much violence in his past be that way?' I suppose?" he asked in a hushed voice.  
  
"Actually, I think you're probably 'that way' because of your past," she said thoughtfully. "After all, who needs the innocence and acceptance of a child more than someone who has had to live with what you have?"  
  
He had no reply to that for a few seconds. He gazed up into her thoughtful eyes.  
  
"What did this unworthy one do to deserve you, is what I really wonder."  
  
"Oh, Kenshin!" she sighed and reached around from behind to embrace him, her head pressing against his back. "Did I say that out loud?" he thought, blushing a bit in the darkness.  
  
Turning within the circle of her arms, he looked into her shining eyes. Gently, he pressed his lips to hers. She sighed again, and began to innocently respond to the kiss, softening her mouth and slightly parting her lips, returning his light pressure. His pulled back his head and broke the contact of their mouths.  
  
"Kaoru" he said, husky voiced, "I, I, don't want you to do anything that makes you feel compromised."  
  
"Compromised?" she queried. "Don't you like kissing me?" she quavered, and her eyes filled with the sheen of threatening tears.  
  
"L-like?" he stammered. "That is an understatement, that it is," he murmured, trying to control his voice.  
  
"So you do like kissing me," she stated softly. "Maa, maa, I was so afraid that you never would want to kiss me. Maybe I'm not pretty enough, or maybe you..."  
  
He broke off her words, kissing her again, this time more passionately. She sighed against his lips and her arms went around his neck to pull him closer, her lips parted, her tongue hesitantly touched his lips, tasting him. He groaned faintly into her mouth. He didn't resist, and his arms wrapped tightly around her waist.  
  
His mind was a whirl of images, past blending into the now, and his breathing grew ragged with the overwhelming emotions consuming him.  
  
Feelings and sensations he hadn't felt in years, maybe had never really felt, made his skin tingle hotly and he broke off the kiss again.  
  
"Kaoru, I, I, need to take a bath, the water is ready, that it is," he said hoarsely.  
  
She was flushed and her face had a dreamy, unfocused look to it. "My first real kiss," she sighed against his chest. "I'm so glad it was you, Kenshin. So glad." 


	9. Author's notes, and Thanks!

Author's notes  
  
Wow, thanks for all the encouraging reviews. I really enjoyed writing this and plan to finish it. Hopefully it will live up to expectations.  
  
I'm having to dust off my rusty Japanese phrases and do some research in to Martial arts to do justice to this bit of fluff, but fortunately, one of my best friend and her husband runs a MA school, teaches aikido, kung fu and tae kwondo techniques. I've been barraging her with questions and getting demonstrations. Hey, I know that the MA in RK is creatively imagined, superhuman stuff at times, but I don't want to sound stupid when I write a fight scene, okay?  
  
Kinda cool, though, I learned how to defend myself against someone with a knife and block a punch. So, I guess I'll get something out of this besides reviews!  
  
Sanosuke Sagara, your review cracked me up. And, I'm not a bitch, I'm THE BITCH. Never forget that, or I'll go Battousai on yer ass.  
  
Kitty Katana, thanks again for suggesting I write a sequel.  
  
Thanks K and J, for the MA instruction. 


	10. Love can be a real pain

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter 10  
  
Another warm and humid Tokyo morning found Kenshin fishing at the banks of the river. One of his favorite activities, it not only provided food, but time for contemplation and relaxation.  
  
Mid-morning came and he had caught plenty for today's needs, and fortunately, no catfish. Kaoru wouldn't eat catfish, a fact he would never forget after the incident with the sapphire ring and the "proposal that never was". He still felt keen embarrassment and regret over that confusing day. It struck to the heart of his insecurity about their relationship. Well aware that they had passed the 'friendship" stage a while back somewhere in his stubborn mind, he nonetheless had a hard time contemplating it as anything but that without feeling a bit panicky.  
  
Last night's events only added to that. Not only had he enjoyed Kaoru's advances, but every part of his mind and body had been left begging for more than the kiss and embrace they had shared. It was frustrating enough to make him swear, so he did, quietly, under his breath.  
  
"Ken-nii!" he heard Ayame and Suzume's high girlish voices searching for him as he neared the dojo. Those little girls couldn't get enough of his being their substitute older brother/uncle, at least these were two feminine relationships in his life he had a handle on.  
  
He came through the gate with his prize, and they ran headlong toward him, squealing as they saw the fish. "EW, slimy fishies, Ken-nii!" said the youngest, Suzume. "It'll be a nice dinner when it's properly prepared, sweetie," said Kenshin. "Ayame, will you take these and put them in the kitchen for Ken- nii?" he asked in a coaxing tone. Ayame stood tall and looked down on her little sister, "I'm a big girl, so Uncle Ken wants me to do this, not YOU, you're too little!" she bragged to Suzume. Suzume pouted and said, "I don't care, stinky old fish, anyway!" She stuck out her tongue at Ayame and stomped her little sandaled foot.  
  
"Maa, maa, be good little ladies, don't fight. Suzume, you can help me wash the vegetables for lunch." Ayume, following behind Kenshin, turned once again to stick out her tongue at her younger sister, who returned the favor, stretching her lips with her fingers to exaggerate the effect.  
  
Kenshin tried not to smile at their naughty antics, but their jealousy over his attentions was something he actually enjoyed. Being an orphan and a wanderer made him appreciate their childish affection, he'd never been a big brother before, or a little one, for that matter. Kaoru sometimes asked him to be less lenient with them, but it was difficult when he found nearly everything they did so endearing.  
  
Because of that, they often pulled him into their pretend games and songs, and somehow, being silly with them never embarrassed him(even when they put soapsuds in his hair, pretended he was their horse, or made him tea parties with inedible cakes). Little of his own childhood had been spent in play, so he figured better late than never.  
  
He hadn't seen Kaoru nor Yahiko yet that morning, deliberately. He was still divided emotionally about his last encounter with Kaoru, and the last thing he needed was his blushing confusion around her being detected and commented upon by their young apprentice. Especially after the merciless teasing he and Sano(especially Sano) had inflicted upon the boy about Tsubame. Well he remembered that night on the roof of the Aoiya in Kyoto, when Yahiko had suddenly popped up out of nowhere in the middle of their supposedly personal conversation and yelled, "Just kiss her already, will ya?" He'd almost fallen off the tiled roof in surprise and embarrassment. As had Kaoru. Then to find that Sano and all their other friends there had been listening in as well("Well, what do you expect from a group of ninjas?" he thought.) was much scarier it's own way that fighting Shishio Mokoto had been. "Well, maybe not THAT scary," thinking of how he'd been carried home nearly dead afterwards by Sano.  
  
Putting Kaoru through the kind of hell she'd suffered then was a big part of his reasons for proceeding with extreme caution about any sort of relationship. To his mind, women who involved themselves in his life were taking a huge risk of becoming either miserable, alone, or even dead. After all, that had been the outcome of his first brief marriage and Tomoe's death the direct result of living the violent life of an assassin and spy for hire. Nothing in the events since he'd met Kaoru had convinced him otherwise. His past was still following him into the present, tainting his happiness and that of anyone foolish enough to love him.  
  
He sighed and tied back the sleeves of his gi, banishing old arguments and unbearable memories to a remote corner of his mind once again. There was work to do and work was his salvation. Even though he was not yet one hundred percent healed from his mind ravishing encounter with Tomoe's tragically obsessed brother, Enishi, he felt the need to work and extend himself as always, using the distractions of everyday necessity to stay sane.  
  
"Let me show you how to prepare namasu," he said to Ayame, who was now old enough to be curious about such things. (Namasu is raw thinly sliced fish served with vinegar and cold stewed vegetables, nice summer fare.) "It's easy enough to learn, but you must learn to be careful with the knife, ne?"  
  
The girls had no parents, being raised by their grandfather, Genzai-sensai, and Kami-Sama only knew who was going to teach them some things. Kenshin had taken it upon himself to show the girls a thing or two about cooking the days they were there being watched over by Kaoru, their adopted oneesan(big sister).  
  
"Look, Ken-nii, I'm doing it!" squealed Ayame, her little hands slowly and carefully chopping vegetables for stewing with a small knife.  
  
Suzume pouted, feeling slighted again. "Don't fret, Suzume, your job is important too, and when your hands are bigger, you can learn to do this, too." Kenshin reassured her.  
  
"May I tell everyone I helped make lunch?" asked Ayame. "Of course you may, sweet girl," said Kenshin distractedly. He could hear Kaoru and Yahiko coming in from the dojo to wash up for lunch, and he was torn between longing to see her and making a convenient excuse to leave and not face her again over lunch.  
  
"Too late for excuses, that it is," he thought, "I'll just pretend nothing happened for now."  
  
With Ayame and Suzume carefully helping him, he brought out the food to the back porch where they usually ate in the summer on nice days. Kaoru and Yahiko were already there, waiting.  
  
"I helped Ken-nii make lunch!" said Ayame excitedly, "when I get bigger, I'll make lunch for all of you all the time." "No," said Suzume, pouting again, "I'm going to make lunch for Ken-nii, because we're going to get married!"  
  
Yahiko laughed, choking slightly on the huge mouthful food he had stuffed into his face, as usual. "If that boy learns to attack an opponent the way he attacks food," thought Kaoru, "he'll be the greatest swordsman in Japan!"  
  
"No, you're not going to marry Ken-nii!" retorted Ayame, "because he's marrying our big sister, isn't he, Kaoru-oneesan?"  
  
Kaoru's face went blank with surprise and she started to blush bright red, starting at her neck and working it's way up to her hairline.  
  
Kenshin thought briefly about using godlike speed to get the hell out of there as fast as possible, but he was caught dead to rights with a simple child's question.  
  
Yahiko was laughing so hard that food came flying out of his mouth and he vainly tried to catch it before it went spewing everywhere.  
  
"Oh, hohoho," he laughed, slapping the deck of the porch. "Oh, Kenshin, you are caught, caught like a rat in a trap!" He rolled backwards and pounded the wood again.  
  
"That's enough!" yelled Kaoru, suddenly standing over Yahiko like some dark avenging angel. "ENOUGH! I'm tired of you all laughing at me. If I'm going to die an old maid, at least give me some respect. I refuse to be humiliated in my own HOUSE!!" She ran from the porch, sobbing and pulling her ponytail with anguish, with Yahiko sitting up suddenly and looking worriedly after her.  
  
"Sorry," he muttered, "I didn't know I was hurting her feelings so badly." Suddenly sober, he put down his chopsticks into the bowl of food he'd been wolfing and looked contrite.  
  
"Why is Neesan crying, Ken-nii?" asked Suzume, her own tears threatening.  
  
"It's okay," said Yahiko, "don't worry, Ayume-chan, Kaoru-oneechan cries a lot for no reason."  
  
Kenshin rose from the porch quietly and told Yahiko, "You stay here with the girls, Yahiko and finish your lunch. I'll go talk to her."  
  
He went to the door of her room, where he knew she'd run, and her loud and indignant sobs were clearly audible from outside the thin door.  
  
"Kaoru-dono, may I come in?" he asked, tapping softly to get her attention.  
  
"NNNOOO!" she sobbed. "I don't want you to see me bawling again!"  
  
"It's all right, Kaoru, I don't mind it," he said coaxingly. "Onegai, come out, now and finish eating. No one will make fun of you, I promise, that I do."  
  
"I wish I were d-d-dead!" she stuttered. "I'm so embarrassed!"  
  
"Onegai, don't say that," he pleaded, her weeping starting to get to him. He could feel a lump rising in his throat at hearing her wracking sobs.  
  
"Oh, to hell with it!" he thought and slid open the door. She was face down on a cushion, crying so hard her whole body was shaking.  
  
"Onegai, no more of this, stop, onegai," he begged, kneeling down beside her. "Onegai, you'll make ourself ill, that you will," he whispered loudly.  
  
"I can't STAND it anymore, I can't, I can't, I can't," she ranted. She began to pound her fists on the floor like a child, her face still buried in the cushion.  
  
"Can't stand what?" he asked quietly, between her cries. "What can't you stand?" he pleaded.  
  
"YOU, YOU, YOU, clueless, idiotic, ridiculous man!" she yelled, raising her face from the cushion. She was a sight, eyes red-rimmed and swollen, tear- streaks staining her cheeks and her hair disheveled.  
  
"ORO?" he said jerking back swiftly, her ravaged face frightening him more than facing a dozen opponents on the battlefield. "NANI??" he said in a louder tone.  
  
"Yes, you, Kenshin no baka! What do I have to do to get your attention? Rip off my clothes, throw myself at you shamelessly like a loose street woman? What? What? What? What do you want?" she hissed loudly at him.  
  
He retreated from the anger in her face, astonished. "I don't want you to do anything like that, Kaoru," he replied tightly.  
  
"Please then, let me GO!" she said, doubling over again, putting her face into the cushion to hide it. "Please, please, do something to make me hate you, make me forget you, make me stop feeling this hopeless love I feel for you." She began to sob again, only without anger, just quiet muffled sobbing.  
  
His heart felt heavy and bruised listening to it. "Am I causing you so much pain?" he asked in a broken voice.  
  
"The way you pretend not to feel for me is causing me pain," she said, quieter. "You run from me, don't look at me. You act like nothing happened between us last night, like you never embraced me, kissed me, the way a man kisses a woman he loves. Yes, that is painful. It's like someone is squeezing my heart until I can't breath anymore."  
  
Like a little child, she put her hand to her left breast and said, "It hurts, here."  
  
"Here?" he asked, placing his hand over hers.  
  
"Yes, there," she said, quieter, but her voice still shaky with tears.  
  
"I'm so sorry, I never meant for you to feel pain," he said.  
  
"It's only painful when you keep denying my love for you," she said to him, raising her face to look at him, and wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her training gi.  
  
"You make me feel I'm doing something horrible by loving you, you turn my joy into pain."  
  
"What can I do?" he whispered, looking at his hand, still covering hers.  
  
"Say you love me," she said, peering up at him with her red-rimmed eyes. "Say you want to stay with me."  
  
"I-I want to stay h-here, with y-you, Kaoru, that I do," he whispered, clutching at her hand almost fearfully.  
  
She looked at him, and a small smile appeared on her face. "You do?" she asked wonderingly. "You want to stay with me?"  
  
"Do you love me, Kenshin? I mean like a man loves a woman. I don't want to be your landlady, your little sister, or just your friend anymore."  
  
He choked. There were not going to be any evasions, excuses, or convenient escapes now. He desperately didn't want to hurt her anymore and a relentless voice in his head was screaming, "Yes, Yes, Yes, I love you, Kamiya Kaoru, I've loved you from almost the first minute I saw you, standing there challenging the Battousai with a wooden sword in your hands."  
  
"Hai," under his breath was all that came out.  
  
"Nani??" she asked, "What did you say?"  
  
"I said YES!" he repeated, his voice cracking with emotion.  
  
"Did you say 'Yes'?" she asked, again, not sure she's heard rightly.  
  
"Yes, dammit, I said 'YES'!" he shouted.  
  
"Oh, that's what I thought you said," she said, with a glazed look on her face that exactly matched the one on his. 


	11. A sweet morning and a painful past

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter 11  
  
Several blocks away from the Kamiya Dojo, Sagara Sanosuke was also starting his day out on an interesting note. The most interesting aspect of it so far lay spooned against him in bed, Takani Megumi.  
  
If it weren't for the fact that his stomach was starting to growl, he could have contemplated her lovely sleeping face for at least several more hours. "Well, maybe not hours," he thought, "but definitely a good long while."  
  
He yawned and stretched out, then leaned over to lightly nibble her shoulder to awaken her. "Hey, woman, get up," he said, "I'm starving! You can't give a man a workout like last night and not feed 'em."  
  
"You and your endless stomach," she mumbled sleepily. "Leave me alone, I rarely get to sleep late, and I'm going to enjoy this. Fix your own breakfast, and while you're at it, bring me some, too."  
  
"Okay, okay, but I'm going to make you pay for this later, kitsune," he grumbled.  
  
He stood up and stretched again, pulling on his loose pants, scratching his unruly hair, and padded out to the small kitchen area of her house. Soon, there was the sounds and smells of a decent morning meal cooking. Megumi sighed and rolled over. She loved it when her bed smelled like him in the morning, and she buried her face into the bedclothes, inhaling his pleasant male fragrance, reminiscent of smoke, spice and something indefinably Sano.  
  
"You gonna get up, lazy fox, or do I have to bring you your food in bed like an invalid?" she heard his voice call from the kitchen.  
  
"I'm getting up," she called back. She slipped on a blue yukata and joined him for breakfast.  
  
"So, what kind of trouble did you get into last night?" she asked him when they were finished. "Who said I got into any trouble?" he retorted.  
  
"No one, but I know better," she said. "Your eyes were gleaming like a weasel in a hen house when you got here last night, a sure sign that you'd had an exciting evening."  
  
"Me and Kenshin did have an interesting evening, I'll say that," Sano said. "We ran into Saitou for one thing. Gods, I hate that jerk!" Sano spat.  
  
"Saitou!" exclaimed Megumi, "Where were you two last night?"  
  
"A newer place down the road aways, called "The White Tiger", ya know, usual kind of place, fair gaming and decent sake, I've been there a time or two before. Turns out, its owned by the spider-haired creep's cousin or sumthin."  
  
"Really," murmured Megumi, encouraging him to keep talking.  
  
"Yeah, and well, there were some cops there, all drunker than a fallen priest, who we had a few words with, but I promise you, no fighting. At least not with my bad hand," he chuckled. "I did have to kick this one fat moron in the ass to get his attention. The others ran like rabbits when they realized that Kenshin was the infamous Hitokiri Battousai. I'll never get over how those two words can change some cocky bastard into a yellow- bellied coward."  
  
"How does Saitou enter into the picture, then?" she asked, curious.  
  
"He was sittin' in the back in a special room, la de da, and apparently heard our little trash talk with some of his men. Seems he has reason to believe that one or more of them might not be exactly trustworthy. Selling police information to some drug lord named 'Kageboushi'."  
  
Megumi paled. "What's wrong, babe, you look sick, my cooking isn't that bad, is it?"  
  
"No, no, Sano, its not that. Did you say, Kageboushi?" she asked hoarsely as her throat went dry with fear.  
  
"Yeah, that's the name. Whassa matter, Meg, that mean something to you?"  
  
Megumi had gone so white that Sano reached around her shoulders to keep her from falling over. "Hey, you know sumthin about this guy, don't you?  
  
She nodded, gulping. "I met him twice, at Kanryuu's mansion. He's absolutely ruthless . Kanryuu was a greedy, sadistic fool, but Kageboushi was just icy and silent. I've never met anyone else who projected such cold menace." She shivered as though the actual temperature of the room had just fallen.  
  
Sano held her tightly, wishing he could erase her painful memories of the days she'd been Kanryuu's captive, forced to use her medical skills to make opium for him. And the god's knew what else he'd used her for. It made him wild with rage just to think about anyone hurting her, using her for their own sadistic pleasure.  
  
She still couldn't bring herself to talk about everything that had happened then, but Sano knew that her dreams were sometimes filled with terror because of him. She'd been ready to take her own life to end the torment when he and Kenshin had finally rescued her from that criminal's grasp.  
  
"Sorry, koishii, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories," he said soothingly into her hair. She leaned against him and tried to control her panic. "I'll be fine, its all in the past now, and someday, maybe my stupid heart will realize it too. Kanryuu is gone."  
  
Sano nodded. "Yeah, last we heard he was exiled after his little stint in jail and using most of his fortune to bribe his way out. I hope it was fun for him."  
  
He went on, "Saitou asked us to follow some guy that meets with these four cops sometimes at The White Tiger and see if he can lead them to where this Kageboushi is. Kenshin and I told him we would, it's easy work and the pay will be good."  
  
"Be careful, Sano, Kageboushi is no one you want to meet face to face. Let the police handle that."  
  
"All we have to do is follow this guy and see where he goes with the information. Then, its up to Saitou and his cops to do what they want with it after that. I don't see it being anything but laying low and keeping our eyes and ears open."  
  
Megumi said nothing, but tightened her grasp on his arms. "Please tell me you and Kenshin won't do anything else. I'm scared, Kageboushi is the very devil himself."  
  
Sano laughed, "We've already met the devil once and did away with him, I'm sure Kageboushi can't be any worse than Shishio Makoto. That freak was crazier than a shit-house rat and ten times harder to kill."  
  
He leaned down to kiss her. "Don't worry, koishii, I'm a big boy and so is Kenshin. We'll be fine."  
  
She returned his kiss fiercely, seeking to drown her fears in his sweet taste.  
  
"I don't know about you, itoshii, but if you don't stop that, I'm not going to be going anywhere anytime soon except back to bed."  
  
She smiled against his lips. "Just what the doctor ordered." 


	12. Resolution

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter 12  
  
Things at the Kamiya dojo were more or less back to normal, if you consider two grown, normally sensible people walking around in a daze, normal.  
  
Genzai-sensai had collected the girls after lunch, and Yahiko had finished his chores. At the wise and advanced age thirteen, he figured he had better things to do than hang around the placeand watch Kenshin and Kaoru act like fools all day long. He left to find his neighborhood friends.  
  
Besides, he figured, if he left them alone more, maybe they could just get it out of their system. Most girls Kaoru's age were married and had had at least one child, so he couldn't figure out why all the dancing around the subject of marriage between them.  
  
"Don't most people get married?" he wondered to himself. "What's the big problem?" "Kaoru's not too ugly, I guess. At least Kenshin seems to think she's decent enough looking, judging from the way he's always staring at her. Why doesn't he just marry her? They live in the same house, anyway. Hmph, grown- ups think they're so smart, but they act really stupid sometimes!"  
  
Back home the subjects of Yahiko's thoughts were still trying to pull themselves together after a very emotional confrontation in Kaoru's room earlier.  
  
"And," Kenshin, thought to himself as was doing a minor repair to the dojo roof that afternoon, "I haven't even told her that Sano and I are going to being a little minor espionage for Saitou. Won't she be thrilled to hear that? I do believe I've had enough feminine temper tantrums for one day, that I have!"  
  
He still couldn't quite believe that he'd been cornered into admitting his feelings for her like that. "Women and their tears," he thought, "Most effective final technique ever invented to disarm the other side."  
  
Unbidden, Saitou's words from the other night came to him, "The only thing you fear is the heart of a woman, Himura. Your fear makes you foolish." He winced. "Maybe he's right, I've certainly been acting like a damn fool," he chastised himself.  
  
"She keeps telling me that the past doesn't matter, that she loves me anyway, and proves it everyday. What do I do? I keep pushing her away. No wonder she feels unlovable, rejected. I'm punishing myself, and punishing her too. Why should she be punished for my sins, and at my own hands, to make it even worse?"  
  
It was such a revolutionary thought that he found himself frozen in place, staring at nothing. He'd stunned himself with his own reasoning. "I'm done here anyway, I need to get down before I fall off the roof!"  
  
Easily, he climbed down, dropping to the ground soundlessly. "Ahh! Kenshin!" Kaoru shrieked in suprise as he suddenly appeared before her. She'd been reading on the porch quietly when he'd landed noiselessly a few feet away.  
  
"You nearly scared me to death!" she gasped.  
  
"I'm sorry, that I am, Kaoru-d..." he trailed off. From now on, he'd use that suffix only in front of others. It seemed silly and somehow inapprorpriate now to use such terms in private. After all, they'd shared intimacies that only engaged couples do for a few weeks now, even though he just now thought of it as such. He felt a pang of guilt.  
  
He sat down on the step in front of her. The emotional revelations of the day had left him exhausted in a way that fighting and training rarely did. Kaoru looked the same. She had little puffs under her lovely dark blue eyes, and they still held a tinge of red from her earlier severe bout of crying.  
  
She looked at his slumped shoulders as he sat there in front of her. His red head was bowed nearly to his chest, his arms rested heavily on his knees, and he looked, well, defeated. She felt a pang of guilt. "I've done this to him," she thought. "That wasn't the way I wanted it. I didn't want to have to force him to tell me his feelings. I wanted him to tell me because HE wanted to say it. Oh, this is so confusing." She was amazed to find tears in her eyes again. She would have sworn there were none left.  
  
Behind him, Kenshin heard a small sound. He turned, and there were tears quietly trailing down her face again. "What's wrong NOW!" he thought to himself.  
  
"What is it?" he asked quietly.  
  
"I'm so sorry for the way I acted earlier, Kenshin, please forgive me." She sniffled a little and reached for a handkerchief to dab at her face. "I can be such a brat at times. I don't know how you stand me."  
  
"You're not a 'brat'." He replied and came to sit down next to her. "You're a grown woman who has the courage to say what this unworthy one cannot. If I weren't such a fool, this would have never happened. If I could have had the courage and honesty to tell you what I feel without you practically having to threaten me, you would not be so frustrated with me."  
  
She stared. "You always do that, you know."  
  
"Do what?" he asked.  
  
"Turn things around, take the blame. You don't have to do that. I'm guilty too. We deserve each other, I suppose, we're both idiots." She smiled a slightly trembling smile.  
  
"Yes, I suppose we are," he said, smiling back. He suddenly felt lighter, at ease. It felt wonderful to sit and talk without any self-consciousness between them again.  
  
Before he could react, she was hugging him around the neck and pressing her face into his shoulder. Slowly, his arms went around her and he returned the embrace. It felt right and comfortable, and he could feel the tension release in her shoulders and back as he made comforting circles with his hands. They sat that way for several minutes, enjoying the silence. "I love you, Kenshin." She said simply. "I love you, Kaoru." He whispered near her ear. It felt a little odd to say it out loud, but he knew he'd get used to it. In fact, since her reaction was to snuggle her head into his shoulder a little deeper and tighten her embrace for a second, he thought that he just might get used to such rewards. "There's something I need to tell you," he said a few moments later.  
  
"What?" she said, still enjoying the pleasure of nearness.  
  
"Remember last night when I told you that Sano and I had a drink with Saitou?" he asked.  
  
"I think so." She replied, wondering where the conversation was now leading.  
  
"Well, I need to tell you that Sano and I are going to be doing a little job for the police. Nothing important, just following a certain suspect individual to his contact."  
  
"Why can't the police do this?" Kaoru wondered out loud.  
  
"Because, he can't trust them, he found out that there is a gang informant among his own men."  
  
"I see," she said, biting her lip a bit. "It's safe, right? I don't want anything to happen to you. I worry enough about you as it is."  
  
"I don't expect it to be anything dangerous, although I understand that the man they are looking for has a lot of powerful connections in the opium black market and who knows what other nasty business?"  
  
She nodded, "If you've given your word to help, then I won't complain. I'll be a good girl for a change." She smiled.  
  
"So, you'll be fine when Sano and I go out again tonight?" he asked.  
  
"Of course I'll be okay. And, having a little extra money will be nice too. You are going to be paid, aren't you?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, yes, we were assured we'd be well-paid," he said.  
  
"Good," she said. "Well, enough wool gathering, I suppose, there's things that need doing before the sun sets." She half-rose to get up and felt a strong hand pulling her back down onto the step.  
  
"I'd like to sit here a few more minutes, if you don't mind," Kenshin said to her quietly. "Yes, that'd be fine," said Kaoru.  
  
He put his arm around her shoulders and drew her near, putting his head on the shoulder next to him. "This feels right, ne?" he whispered.  
  
"Yes, it does." She kissed the top of his head and inhaled the sweet smell of the herbs they used in the bath in his hair. She sighed. Going with an urge, she reached to untie the long ponytail of hair he wore in the back and his head jerked up as it came cascading over his shoulders. She reached out tentatively to run a hand through its silky, wavy texture.  
  
"It's so beautiful," she whispered, wide eyed, pulling the tresses through her fingers and pulling gently through a few small tangles gained in the days activities.  
  
"It's hair," he shrugged, a little embarrassed.  
  
He'd always knew that people stared at his odd-colored hair, but 'beautiful' was never a term he would have used for it. "Strange," was the term he often used for it. Not for the first time he wondered about his untypical hair and eye color. Was it the result of having being fathered by a foreigner, as some had whispered behind his back? He'd never know. His parents had died when he was so young, he had only a few unfocused memories, and their faces where long gone from his mind. It amazed him still that women often found his coloring exotically attractive.  
  
"Another thing on that very long list of things I do not understand about females," he thought. The feeling of her fingers on his scalp was so relaxing, he felt he might start to purr like the dojo's cat any second.  
  
"Ah, that feels nice," he sighed, bending his head down further to receive more ministering from her gentle fingertips. He closed his eyes in bliss. Suddenly, he felt a gentle pressure urging his head down onto her lap. "Rest here," she said to him. He obliged and pressed his cheek against the clean smelling cotton of her summer kimono, inhaling and exhaling slowly until he felt quite drowsy. He drifted off into a light sleep, still feeling her hands soothing and stroking his hair. His last conscious thought was that he'd never felt so at peace. 


	13. More boring author's notes and meaningle...

Response to Reviews  
  
Wow, more reviews. I'm totally impressed with your knowledge of RK factoids, some of you. You people need a life! I bet some of you even know Kenshin's intimate measurements or Sano's (or have made some up, you sickos!) . Scareee!  
  
But, I love all the reviews really. Is there a twelve step for reviews?, because I'm officially addicted to them. MORE! MORE!  
  
Even the less than raving ones, because I'm a masochist. Whip me, beat me, drip hot candle wax on me, I can stand it. Joodan deshu, it actually helps a lot. Sometimes, you type along writing your little butt(I wish!) off and miss things. I try to reread and edit well before I post, but you know, when it's one in the morning and you run out of Pepsi Twist and donuts(needed to feed the evil brain elves, Vash is right about donuts, it IS the ultimate food of the plant angel thingies), you miss things.  
  
I am not dissing redheads, as someone implied. I AM a redhead, actually, and not courtesy of Clairol. I have baby pictures to prove it. I have red hair and violet blue eyes, actually. Joodan deshu!(No joking!)  
  
Even so, I still don't get why Kenshin loves scrubbing laundry by hand all damn day, except my psych texts whisper "OCD incited by PTSD with guilt associations". Hey, it happens to the best of us.  
  
I had no idea that Ayume was the older of the two grandaughters, I assumed and took a chance. I asked my daughter which is which, who knows everything because she is 13 and all she does is read, draw, eat, and sleep anime. She said, "I don't know, because I usually put my fingers in my ears so they don't bleed when those two little bitches come on." She hates Suzame and Ayume. She hates anything kawaii. When Chou was playing shiskabob with the baby, she was cheering for him(Chou, not the baby). Does the Manson family need a new member?  
  
A minor thing that could be easily fixed if need be, anyway. Thanks for pointing it out, somebody whose name I can't remember, uh, Shiomei??. I will now go and drown myself in contrition.  
  
This is after the Revenge arc, obviously(or not). There's a bit of breathing space in there for my little bit of fluff, I think. I've read many stories that are much more out of the canon of RK and enjoyed them. I don't mind, as long as they are well written and believable within themselves, you know, don't end up in Africa meeting Tarzan or something.(Some creatively inept plagiarizer will no doubt steal that stoopid idea! ACK!)  
  
Kenshin won't be "Battousai-ing" anyone in my tale, fear not gentle and not so gentle readers, but come on, people, we don't want to completely emasculate him, do we? Can't he even loose his temper a bit when someone insults him? Can't he get a little horny looking at Kaoru-dono? MONKS get laid more than this guy, except in fanfic. (Especially one named Miroku).  
  
Thanks to the reviewers who enjoyed my Sano and Megumi, Kenshin and Kaoru scenes. I just played off of my own persona pillow talk for that(at least within the PG-13 limit). Yes, I'm married to a tall, dark, handsome, sexy earthy guy who talks and smells like that and is a great lover. (Daughter reading over shoulder is screaming with burned retinas, mother is laughing evilly, Suffer the eye pains of hell, unholy teenaged beast! That's what you get for reading over my shoulder!)  
  
You may all curl up and die of jealousy, now. I might have to change my genre to romance, I enjoyed writing those scenes A LOT! Trying to keep it humorous, though. It's supposed to be somewhere in that genre, I'm trying.  
  
Can't you tell that in my story Kenshin is ready for some peace and quiet, some pleasant canoodling around the dojo with a hot little kenjutsu instructor, once he gets it into his hard head that he's got it baaaad for her? I must be doing a lousy job of getting that across. Must work harder, must work harder. I don't know where someone got the idea that there was a washing machine in my story. LOL I want some of what YOU'RE smoking, honey!  
  
I spent the 4th of July weekend watching the whole Trigun series. A good thing to do if you're bored out of your skull and need to laugh and cry(I didn't have to kiss my bucks goodbye, I own the tapes). Yes, I've watched it a hundred times and I still cry like a baby when Wolfie dies.  
  
Say it with me, Trigun fans, "Wolfwood LIVES!!" Ah, denial, it's a good thing. He and Millie are now happily raising 13 kids and all that lovey dovey crap. I love happy endings. 


	14. The White Tiger

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter 13  
  
"Oi, Kenshin, kawatta koto wa arimasen ka?" called Sano. (Japanese for "What's up?"). It was evening, and they were getting set to go back to The White Tiger for what Sano was now calling "doing Saitou's dirty laundry" to himself.  
  
"So, now I'm a spy for Imperialist cops," mused Sano aloud. "I must be getting soft in the head."  
  
"Maybe you got hit in the head too many times," Yahiko teased him.  
  
"Not hard enough, I suppose." Sano said. "I tell ya, the things a guy has to do for a little drinking money..."  
  
"You're the perfect person for this job, Sano," said Kenshin, coming into the room, "after all, who would suspect a former Seikihotoi member of spying for the police? It is no doubt why Saitou asked you to do this."  
  
"Yeah, the perfect cover; I'm a genius," Sano replied sarcastically. "When this is over, I'm going to have to work really hard to get on Saitou's bad side again."  
  
"I doubt you'll have to work too hard, my friend," chuckled Kenshin.  
  
"Yahiko, keep Kaoru-dono company this evening, please," said Kenshin. "I don't like leaving her alone at night too often."  
  
"Aa, I will, Kenshin, but do I have to look at her while I do it?" Yahiko said, laughing at his "witticism".  
  
Sano reached over and rapped him smartly on the head with a bandaged knuckle. "Now you have an excuse for making another stupid joke," he said. "A concussion."  
  
"Itaii!" Yahiko yelled. "That hurt, you big ahou!"  
  
"Juuban!" said Kenshin, (Enough!) "We need to go, Sano, that we do."  
  
"Sugu, maybe I'll get lucky at the dice tonight, eh?" winked Sano.  
  
"Yeah, sure, and I'm a pretty girl, KISS ME, Sano!" mocked Yahiko in a high girlish voice, pushing out his lips at Sano and waggling his behind.  
  
"Here's your kiss, smart ass brat!" said Sano, put a headlock on him and rubbing his already sore head hard (a noogie?) as he struggled to no avail to get out of Sano's relatively light grasp.  
  
"Itaii, Itaii, I give, I give," he finally yelled. "Boy, Sano is really strong!" he thought to himself, gingerly touching the various sore spots on his head. "Good thing he wasn't really pissed at me!"  
  
"You two had enough fun, yet?" Kenshin asked rolling his eyes impatiently towards the exit.  
  
"Ai, I'm ready to go now, what's the big hold-up?" asked Sano trying to look innocent and failing badly as usual.  
  
He enjoyed his big brother act with Yahiko more than he'd ever admit. His real little brother Outa was at least a day away in Shinshuu. Sano had run away from home at ten to join the Seikihotai squad. He wasn't there when his mother had died giving birth to Outa and he didn't really know him at all. Even his sister Uki barely remembered him when he'd gone back to see the Higashadani family.  
  
She'd followed him around like a little puppy when they were kids, and he learned to his shame that she'd been heartbroken for months after he'd run away. Sighing, he passed his rough hand over his face to banish the vaguely guilty thoughts. No need to dwell too much on the past, which wasn't his way. He was a man who lived for the moment, which was his tenet for all things in life. It was what had made him a survivor where others had fallen in harder times.  
  
Still, he wondered every now and then what was up with the old man, Outa and his sister. She should get married soon and quit fussing over Outa so much; she was going to make a wimp outta the kid if she didn't knock that shit off! Such were his silent thoughts as he walked along with Kenshin. He was appreciative at this moment that Kenshin was a man who didn't require idle chatter to be comfortable in his company.  
  
Which brought his mind around the subject of women in general, and one woman in particular. Megumi. "Ah, there's something nicer to think about," he smiled. "Ah, sweet oppai, nice, round denbu, seika..." he thought lasciviously, taking an internal mental inventory of her more magnificent feminine assets.  
  
"I'm such a hentai," he thought without guilt, as usual. (denbu-behind, derrierre, oppai-breasts, seika,-stomach, below the navel.)  
  
( ^-^)  
  
"We're here," said Kenshin said, suddenly. Sure enough, they were in front of The White Tiger again.  
  
"Ah, well," Sano thought airily, "so much for retsujou! (lust) Time to get down to business."  
  
They walked in.  
  
As before, Ona greeted them almost instantly.  
  
"Koban wa," she said cheerily. "Ogenki desu ka, Sano-kun?"  
  
"Genki desu," Sano replied, as she latched on to his arm to guide him to a table.  
  
Kenshin followed closely behind, not really caring that she'd hardly glanced in his direction. He was taking advantage of the situation to scan the room.  
  
They were seated at the same table as before and Ona went to get them their drink. And surprise, surprise, who was at the next table to their right again but the same "interesting" foursome as a few nights ago. Deep in some intense discussion of their own, they hadn't noticed Sano and Kenshin's arrival.  
  
"Over there," whispered Kenshin, pointing discreetly with his chin.  
  
"I see 'em," Sano whispered back. "Look, the big fat ahou still has a nasty- looking mark on his forehead," he grinned with satisfaction. "Nice to know I made a lasting impression on him."  
  
"I hope their contact shows up tonight," Kenshin said, under his breath, "I don't want to have to come here every night until he does."  
  
"Whatever," Sano said dismissively, waving a hand.  
  
Ona appeared with heated sake. "There you go, Sano-kun, Himura-san, I put it on your tab. If you need anything else, call me. Ah, it's a busy night tonight! I have to run!" she trotted off.  
  
"We have a tab?" Sano said in wonder.  
  
"No doubt courtesy of Saitou," Kenshin said distractedly, still taking inventory of his surroundings.  
  
Indeed, it was a full house, of which Sano was rather glad. The foursome had yet to spot them in the noise and dim lights of the gambling parlor.  
  
"Although," he thought to himself, "Another little fight with these guys might be the highlight of the evening."  
  
It wasn't that Sano was eager to inflict pain so much as he literally loved fighting for it's own sake. Not so much as in his former gangster days when he felt the need to fight to vanquish his hate, but it still gave him an adrenaline rush to practice his amazing and varied fighting skills every once in a while. If it came up. Which it sometimes did.  
  
"Besides," he rationalized, "the guys I've whipped, they were all bad anyway."  
  
Zanza, his Yakuza persona, was guilty of much that was indeed "AKU", but he was put to rest forever. Just as for Kenshin, the Hitokiri Battousai was now merely legend, a boogey man of the Bakamatsu to scare naughty children with at night.  
  
"Drinking and gaming on the tab of the Imperialists, now that's something to cheer about!" Sano laughed. "Here's to the spider-haired creep!" he joked quietly, pouring Kenshin and himself something.  
  
He poured himself twice as much as he had for Kenshin and tossed it back.  
  
"You really don't have any manners, do you?" Kenshin commented. "Didn't your mother ever teach you that you always take the smallest portion? "Well, if I had given you a choice, which one would you have chosen?" Sano asked, straight faced. "Probably the smaller cup," Kenshin conceded. "See, baka, it all worked out anyway! We both got what we wanted!" Sano said with perfect reasoning.  
  
(AN: This is actually my lame-ass version of a classic old Japanese joke, so I thought I'd throw it in. He he. Falling off my dinosaur.)  
  
Kenshin spotted him first, an ordinary-looking, medium sized, fellow in a Western style suit had come in and was moving towards the table with the four off-duty cops. He'd probably been chosen for his unremarkable appearance as much as anything thought Kenshin. An easy man to overlook in these surroundings.  
  
He tapped Sano's arm lightly to get his attention, and shifted his eyes and lifted his eyebrows toward the entrance to indicate their quarry.  
  
"Ah, our sneaky little rat bastard arrives," Sano said, tossing back more sake. "Too bad it's so blasted noisy in here, we might be able to get an earful."  
  
"Hey, big fella, go easy on that stuff," warned Kenshin. "It's hard to keep your wits about when your head is spinning with drink."  
  
"Take a hell of a lot more than this to get me in that condition," Sano snorted finishing his cup.  
  
Kenshin smiled. He sipped a little slowly and appreciatively, but he had never had the seemingly bottomless capacity that Sano seemed to have and never would. During the Bakamatsu, he'd sometimes relied too heavily on drink to find solace, but that was long ago.  
  
"Sano could give my Shishio Hiko a run for his money when it comes to putting down the sake," smiled Kenshin to himself, briefly imagining a contest between the two.  
  
Sano keep his eye on the man, who was now seated with the four officers. They were as he remembered from the other day. Furukizo, the bristle haired man with the puckered scar down one side of his face, and who had concealed a wakazashi(short samurai sword) under his longer coat. Hanahigi, the round faced man with a moustache, who had carried a tanto(knife). Probably hidden in his jacket somewhere again, thought Kenshin. Saiyou was the lean fellow who carried nunchako on their previous encounter. Then, of course, Tanaka, the big bull of a man Sano had fought with briefly.  
  
The man suddenly withdrew a small paper package from out of his jacket and passed it quickly to Furukizo, who seemed to be the unofficial leader of the group.  
  
"Hm, the payoff, no doubt," thought Kenshin. An apparently innocent act in and of itself, but in the context of what Saitou had informed them of, no longer innocent.  
  
Sano was getting a little bored, waiting for their man to make a move, and he also noticed the almost surreptitious passing of the small package.  
  
"Finally, I thought we'd be sitting here on our cans all night fer nuthin," he stretched out one leg and clasped his long arms around the other.  
  
He was beginning to wish a bit more for that fight to break out. He decided there and then that spying was not his game, not enough action.  
  
"Better suited for a guy like Aoshi," he thought, "The Icicle could probably sit like a stone for hours and enjoy the hell outta it. All that damn meditating he does would drive me mad after about 10 minutes."  
  
The unremarkable man seemed to be sipping sake for the moment, his task apparently completed, he was enjoying a little free hospitality.  
  
"I wonder how long we'll have to sit her and watch this guy do nothing much," thought Sano, yawning a little. He was getting itchy to move, to do ANYTHING, but sit and watch some Yakuza errand boy have a drink or two.  
  
He clenched his fists reflexively in their fighting bandages, which he usually wore. Kenshin was his usual patient self, Sano noted. Other than the fact that his eyes did not leave the table with the five men at it, he seemed perfectly normal and calm.  
  
"It seems our friend has decided to leave, Sano. Let's see where he's headed." Kenshin was right, the man was getting up, and bowing slightly to the four police officers, he started towards the exit.  
  
Kenshin and Sano waited until he'd almost reached the door, then also got up to leave. "Here we go," thought Sano. Ona came trotting over to them. "I was told to give you this before you left, Himura-san," Ona said.  
  
She handed Kenshin a small piece of paper. On it was a message from Saitou, "Proceed with caution, Himura. New information discovered this morning indicates that Kageboushi may be aware his man is being watched. Fujita Gorou." Kenshin read quickly  
  
Kenshin relayed this message to Sano as they left, Kenshin wisely dropping the crumpled message in the chimney of the nearest oil lamp to burn. 


	15. Explanations, apologies, and a little ra...

A few more notes from Gina  
  
I seem to be getting a few complaints about using too many Japanese phrases in my stories. I had no idea it was so annoying, my only excuse is I'm just writing what comes into my head at the time. I'll restrain my wayward brain elves, and let you enjoy the story without the Japanese lessons. LOL I kind of thought it added something to the story, but I am outvoted, apparently.  
  
I think there's something about reading the manga that does that to me, it's much more "Japanese" in feel and art style, cultural references, everything. I prefer it to the anime actually, and I tend to base my characterizations, language and visual impressions upon it. I haven't even seen the whole series in anime version, but I've read all the mangas several times.  
  
I'm also a big fan of the Zatoichi live action series, which is in Japanese with subtitles, (no dubs, I don't like dubs) so I think I'm bleeding over into that a bit in my thoughts as I write, too. Listening to all that Japanese is sticking in my fevered brain, it seems. (I even found myself dreaming partly in Japanese phrases the other night, weird! I won't tell you I was doing in the dream, although there was a samurai with a BIG sword. LOL I will tell you it was um exciting.)  
  
In case you never heard of it, Zatoichi a series about a blind ronin and his adventures wandering around shogun-era Japan, and the similarities to RK are there, although Zatoichi is much more gritty and realistic, has a lot of typically earthy toilet humor, too. (Jokes about peeing on people "accidentally" are hilarious to the Japanese so there's usually some of that.)  
  
Japanese humor is unexpectedly earthy and even nasty to many Americans, in view of their extreme social politeness most of the time; it can seem weird (although there's nobody on earth ruder than a drunken group of Japanese men). But, it's just a different culture with different social taboos and influences than ours. Growing up with that influence as I did, many people find my own sense of humor a bit gross and my almost total lack of bodily self-consciousness a bit odd. I always forget how embarrassed about bodily functions and sex some people can be.  
  
Frankly, although the RK Anime is good in many ways, it's been sanitized and over-edited for my taste. Rurouni Kenshin is NOT a kid's show, which is what you might be led to believe from Cartoon Networks showing of it. It's a comic for teens and adults, mostly male oriented, with lots of swearing, blood, and guts. I'm SOOO pissed at Cartoon Network for interrupting the RK Anime in the middle of a story arc, can you tell?  
  
I hope their legs grow together! They did that with Inuyasha, too, the fiends, another Anime that they over-sanitized and edited to death. (Inuyasha's favorite thing to call his enemies in the original is "f**ker" and he calls Kagome "bitch" a lot, he's not very sweet and cuddly, really, rabid fangirls, he's quite angsty and vicious at times). I'm going to choke them all to death slowly with Sesshumaru's man-boa- cloak thing if he'll loan it to me. (It says in the manga it's a fur cloak, so I'm going with that, okay?) I bet he would loan it if I told him I was going to murder some puny annoying humans who had dissed his magnificence with it. 


	16. Shadowing the prey

Guy's Night Out  
Chapter 14  
  
"There he is!" said Sano to Kenshin as they left the noise and lights of The White Tiger. Their objective was hurrying away into the night, looking over his shoulder occasionally as if he expected someone to be following him.  
  
Sano and Kenshin stayed in the shadows unseen, noting his course, and then began to quietly and unnoticeably follow.  
  
Stalking a person at night was nothing new for Kenshin, and he had purposely worn dark colors to blend into the shadows, dark blue gi and grey hakama. Sano realized again that spying was just not in his blood. He felt a bit uncomfortable without his distinctive "AKU" symbol guarding his back with a lightweight gray haori tied over his usual attire.  
  
The contact made his way out of the commercial district and through several neighborhoods shrouded in sleep, and without lights.  
  
"No doubt to make sure anyone following would be shaken off of his trail," thought Kenshin, "the man is no fool."  
  
Modest homes started to thin out after a few miles and be replaced with more impressive ones, the homes of merchants, and minor officials, perhaps.  
  
Sano and Kenshin doggedly kept up, still seemingly not noticed by their quarry.  
  
Finally, the man stopped in front of what appeared to be a wealthy merchant's home, with a Western influenced architectural style, as was more common with importers and exporters of goods. There were Georgian style pillars on the front porch, and it was made of brick with glass windows. It was surrounded by a high wall with an ornamental iron gate, which had apparently been left open.  
  
He looked around to make sure he was alone, opened the gate and slipped inside and then quietly made his way to around to a side entrance for servants and tradesmen, and slipped inside.  
  
Kenshin took a second to commit the location to memory, and beckoned his larger friend to leave with him.  
  
They moved noiselessly and unobserved in the darkness until they had come back quite a few streets, keeping up their guard until they were back into the edges of the commercial district where their presence at night would be considered usual.  
  
Suddenly, Kenshin got an inexplicable prickling feeling on the back of his neck. He could vaguely sense he was being observed, although it was impossible to determine the direction or intent of the observer.  
  
"Unusual," the thought, every sense immediately alert, "Someone who is skilled at guarding his ki from others." His hand immediately went to the hilt of his reverse blade sword. "We're being watched, Sano," he hissed between clenched teeth.  
  
"Yeah, I got a weird feeling too," Sano said, casting around with his eyes in the dimly lit gloom.  
  
"Expect anything," Kenshin whispered to his friend. "Right," he whispered back.  
  
They were in a vacant area with a few trees on the outskirts of the small commercial district not too far from where The White Tiger was located.  
  
Kenshin and Sano automatically assumed a protective anticipatory fighting stance, putting themselves back to back and circling slowly.  
  
There was the slightest of sounds to their right, and as a unit they whirled to face what or who ever would present itself.  
  
A tall, indistinct figure emerged from out of the shadows of the trees, and Kenshin extended his ki to attempt to discern intent. And failed.  
  
There was only one person with such skills known to him, and he suddenly realized who their stalker was.  
  
"Shinomura Aoshi, what brings you to Tokyo?" Kenshin asked quietly, taking his hand off of the hilt of his sword.  
  
"The two of you fail miserably as ninjas," a deep humorless voice came out of the dark. As he drew closer, Sano was able to see that Kenshin was correct, it was indeed Shinomura Aoshi of the Kyoto Oniwabanshu.  
  
"It IS the Icicle!" hissed Sanosuke.  
  
Aoshi was dressed in dark clothing suitable for concealment, sans his usual trench-coat, carrying his two kodachi in their one sheath.  
  
Shinomura Aoshi was a man of few words, and he would not waste them replying to Sano's comment.  
  
"We hunt the same quarry, Himura."  
  
"Kageboushi?" Kenshin asked.  
  
"Aa, but for different reasons."  
  
"You know him, don't you." It was not a question, but a statement from Sanosuke.  
  
An almost imperceptible nod. "Aa."  
  
"Megumi told me that she met Kageboushi at Kanryu's mansion. I figured you knew him from back then." Sano was looking curiously at Shinomura, trying to gauge his reaction to that comment. Nothing.  
  
"We should not be talking here," Aoshi admonished.  
  
"Follow me to the dojo and we'll discuss this further," said Kenshin.  
  
"I'll be there."  
  
Kenshin turned to Sano for a second, and when he turned back, Aoshi was gone.  
  
"Same old Icicle," said Sano, shrugging. 


	17. Tea, but no sympathy

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter 15  
  
(AN: I'm having a really crappy day, gentle readers, so bear with me. I hope this is coherent. Maybe Aoshi-sama's arrival will calm me down, ne? It seems to work for Misao when she's freaking out. I know that Aoshi-sama isn't funny, but he makes a good straight man.)  
  
Sano and Kenshin arrived at the dojo not long after their unexpected encounter with Shinomura Aoshi. As they opened the gate, Kenshin discerned the barely discernible outline of the former omnitsu leader waiting for them on the front porch.  
  
"How'd he beat us here?" wondered Sano aloud.  
  
"I haven't a clue, that I do not," answered Kenshin.  
  
They approached in silence, and Kenshin wordlessly beckoned their guest inside, so as not to awake the household.  
  
After removing their shoes and accouterments, they sat facing each other in the guest area.  
  
"So," said Kenshin, spoke first, "You are involved in this as well. I see the hand of Saitou reaches further than I expected. Or should I say, Inspector Fujita Gorou."  
  
"He asked me five days ago in Kyoto to assist you," Aoshi stated. There was no indication upon his impassively handsome face as to what he felt about this request.  
  
"In the simple matter of following a Yakuza errand boy to his destination?" Kenshin asked in a politely disbelieving tone.  
  
"No."  
  
"Aoshi at his most monosyllabic," thought Kenshin, slightly irritated.  
  
"Whaddya mean, 'No'?" blurted Sano. "What kind of no answer is that?"  
  
"I mean, it is not a simple matter, not anymore," Aoshi said.  
  
"How has it become complicated?" asked Kenshin, feeling as though extracting the man's teeth one by one with chopsticks would be easier. He realized that Aoshi had been trained to thoroughly resist interrogation since childhood, but this was ridiculous! He was not the enemy, at least, not anymore, he sincerely hoped.  
  
"It became complicated when I discovered that Kageboushi is responsible for the deaths of three of the Oniwaban group in Yokohama," the stony man said quietly.  
  
"I see," said Kenshin, slowly.  
  
"I'll make tea," he said, getting up to relieve the sudden tension in the room.  
  
"Chikuso!" said Sano quietly, finding a quicker route to tension relief in swearing.  
  
"Saitou-san suggested that I become personally involved in settling the matter," said Aoshi.  
  
"Maa, a whole damned sentence actually volunteered. Will wonders never cease?" Sano said with heavy sarcasm.  
  
Aoshi's only response was one barely lifted eyebrow from under his long bangs. He stared coolly and levelly at Sano, which had the desired effect of prohibiting further comment.  
  
Fortunately, Kenshin soon arrived with tea and cakes before the staring contest turned into something else, at least on Sano's part.  
  
(AN: I don't know about nowadays, but its traditionally terrible manners to not offer a guest at least tea and a nosh, regardless of why they're there, so the middle of the night isn't an odd time to have tea, there is no 'odd' time for good manners.)  
  
"Origato gozaimasu," Aoshi said formally, accepting the cup from Kenshin that he had carefully poured.  
  
"I know you only drink green tea, Shimomura-san" said Kenshin, equally polite.  
  
"That explains a lot," commented Sano dryly.  
  
Aoshi, as usual, ignored him and sipped the pleasantly bitter drink in silence.  
  
Kenshin knew there'd be no pushing the ninja until he was ready, so he also focused on the soothing effect of the beverage and gathered his thoughts.  
  
Sanosuke distracted himself with sponge cake. (AN: Also one of my favorite forms of TM: Twinkie Meditation. ()  
  
Three cups of tea later, Aoshi was apparently lubricated enough to speak.  
  
"I've been collecting information for the Kyoto police in the matter of the opium trade between Tokyo and Yokohama for the past six months." Aoshi continued.  
  
"Yokohama is where much of the outsider smuggling operations are located, nearly everyone knows that," Commented Sano.  
  
"Everyone that used to be associated with the Yakuza," commented Aoshi dryly.  
  
"Or former ninja assassins for the Shogun," Sanosuke retorted.  
  
"One point for Sano," thought Kenshin, grinning faintly behind his teacup.  
  
"To continue," said Aoshi, clearing his throat softly for attention, "three and a half weeks ago, I received word that three of my best men in Yokohama had been murdered by the Yakuza. The name 'Kageboushi' came up in the course of my interrogation of one of the men I discovered was responsible."  
  
Sanosuke gulped a little tea to cure his suddenly dry mouth. He had little doubt what the "interrogation" had entailed. Sometimes, he thought, having a vivid imagination could be a curse.  
  
"You turned him over to the police, I hope, Shinomura-san" said Kenshin, frowning. "Why, so Saitou could introduce the murdering bastard to his philosophy of "Aku, Soku, Zan"?  
  
Aoshi raised his eyebrows questioningly at Kenshin, daring him to protest again.  
  
Kenshin sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I recall once asking you not to kill any more than necessary."  
  
"It was necessary," said Aoshi in a cold steely voice.  
  
Kenshin knew that Aoshi's strict code of honor could not abide a murderer of his Oniwaban brethren escaping his grasp once caught. He had no arguments against that would seem in the least reasonable to Shinomura Aoshi.  
  
"If the Yakuza has bought themselves dirty cops in Yokohama and Kyoto too," said Sanosuke, "then handing the man over to the cops is a death sentence anyway."  
  
"So, the rusty wheels do grind occasionally," said Aoshi with faint sarcasm.  
  
"Not all of my thinking originates below the waist, Shinomura," shot back Sano.  
  
"Ah, you anticipated my next thought, Sagara, there may be hope for you yet." Aoshi countered in his deep monotone.  
  
Kenshin held up a hand. "Enough. We need to discuss our next course of action."  
  
"For the two of you, there is no more 'action' to take."  
  
"This is now my concern," said the former Oniwaban ninja leader, rising in a smooth motion from his half lotus position on the tatami matting.  
  
"Very well, Shinomura, my involvement is this matter is finished. I'll give you the location of the home that the police officer's contact went into."  
  
"I already know it," Aoshi told him.  
  
"Well, then, it seems that our involvement was unnecessary from the beginning."  
  
"No," said Aoshi, "your involvement ensured my own efforts would go completely undetected. You and Sagara may be warriors in your own right, but as spies you could be bested by my most inexperienced omnitsu."  
  
"So, we were decoys," said Sano, beginning to look pissed off.  
  
"Aa."  
  
"I feel so used," said Sano.  
  
" 


	18. A hair raising morning

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter 17  
  
(AN: Can't sleep anyway, so I decided to write another chapter. Typing and drinking green tea (my favorite, too, Aoshi-sama,) as I'm watching a goofy Trigun episode, "Love And Peace". Vash cheers me up. Hands me a donut (mm, old fashioned glazed! How did you know, Vash-chan!) And give me that sweet smiley face and huggers. Scares off the ugly weird bad guys with his big ass gun arm. All better now. Vash looks a bit like my younger brother, only prettier, so I can't get romantic ideas about him that'd be weird. Unless you're Angelina Jolie, whom I'm definitely not. Wolfwood is fair fantasy game, however. Okay, enough of that, Gina, back to the salt mines.).  
  
Aoshi departed as silently as he'd come, leaving the two men wondering if they'd merely imagined his sitting and drinking tea with them. Sano counted teacups just to reassure himself the former okashira had truly been there.  
  
"You're staying here, of course," asked Kenshin, unnecessarily.  
  
"Might as well," yawned Sanosuke.  
  
"The proper reply is, 'Origato, Kenshin-kun,'" admonished the older man.  
  
"So, you're my okaasan all of a sudden," said Sanosuke, grinning.  
  
"Kami knows you could use one," said Kenshin, picking up the tea things to take to the kitchen.  
  
"I was wrong, you're more like my obaasan, who as I remember was a very cranky, scary old woman," Sanosuke rose and stretched. (obaasan- grandmother)  
  
"You know where the extra futon and bedding is, just don't wake Yahiko, please."  
  
"Yes, obaasan," Sano joked.  
  
"If I were your obaasan, you'd have better manners."  
  
"If you were my obaasan, you'd be dead and I wouldn't have to endure this nagging."  
  
"Oyasumi nasai, Sano."  
  
"Oyasumi nasai, Kenshin. See, I can be nice."  
  
"There's no more cake."  
  
"Damn. All that effort fer nuthin."  
  
Next morning at the Kamiya Dojo found Kenshin up bright and early doing chores. Sano was still lying in bed, no surprise, in spite of Yahiko's somewhat rigorous efforts to wake him.  
  
"Get up, you lazy bum," yelled Yahiko in Sano's closest ear.  
  
"Hey, I was planning on using that ear later, Yahiko-CHAN!" yelled Sano back.  
  
"CHAN?!!"  
  
And the fight began.  
  
Round One: Yahiko attempts to kick Sanosuke in the face, but Sanosuke grabs the flying foot and jerks the boy off his feet. CRASH! Yahiko counters with jumping back onto his feet, fists raised, but by then, Sanosuke has gained his own feet. Reaching out with longer arms, he grabs Yahiko by the front of his gi and a faint ripping sound is heard as Yahiko goes flying outside of the still open door of his room.  
  
Round Two: Sano, dressed only in pants, (^-^) follows Yahiko out of the room to inflict more pain and suffering, but is surprised by a Yahiko-sized blur jumping him from his right. The blur lands on his shoulders, grabs two large handfuls of hair, and starts biting and pulling.  
  
"Itaii, Itaii, get it off, get it off!" Sano yells, dancing around, attempting to loosen the fiend that has hold of his precious shaggy locks.  
  
The onset of round three was interrupted by the arrival of the mistress of the Kamiya Dojo, Kaoru. She's in her finest and scariest aspect, wooden bokken in one hand, the other on her hip.  
  
"What the nine HELLS is going on here!" she storms, shaking the bokken at them.  
  
"This damn brat is balding me," yelled Sano. "Get him off!"  
  
"Yahiko, let go of Sano's hair immediately!" Kaoru yelled.  
  
"He insulted me!" Yahiko yelled back.  
  
"I called him 'chan', that is NOT an insult," Sano countered, still trying to dislodge the boy.  
  
"I am not a little kid anymore!" yelled Yahiko, "I'm descended from an honorable line of Tokyo samurai!"  
  
"What sword style is this, Tokyo samurai?" sneered Sano.  
  
"Brat!"  
  
"Ahou!"  
  
"If you two don't end this, I will!" threatened Kaoru, growling out the words.  
  
Kenshin could hear everything, naturally, but decided that his lovely Kaoru and her bokken had the situation well in hand, so he decided to keep preparing breakfast and not come to her immediate aid.  
  
"I'm off, I'm off," he heard Yahiko relent, after an slight thumping sound which meant that Kaoru has been forced to use stronger measures.  
  
"Just for that, you both will be cleaning this dojo thoroughly top to bottom! No arguments!" she called over her shoulder as she walked off. "Now, wash and come eat."  
  
"You are so dead," Sano mock-threatened Yahiko as they prepared for breakfast. Sano by donning the rest of his clothing, and washing up alongside Yahiko.  
  
They sat down for yet another dysfunctional family meal, with Sano and Yahiko starting to feel the small scrapes and bruises from their little fight.  
  
Just as they were finishing, there was a voice at the front door. Kaoru rose and sliding it open, she came face to face with a very white and shaky Gensai-sensai, the old doctor that Megumi worked with at the Oguni Clinic.  
  
"Kaoru-chan," he gasped. He'd obviously been running. "What's wrong!" Kaoru asked in alarm. By now, Kenshin, Sano and Yahiko had come hurrying over.  
  
"It's Megumi-san!" he cried. "I waited an hour for her this morning at the clinic, and she didn't come. When I arrived at her house to see if she was okay, I found this."  
  
He waved a piece of paper in his shaking hand. Kenshin took it from his grasp.  
  
As he read, his face grew blank, then hardened until it became a mask of steely rage.  
  
"What does it say?" asked Sano in a dangerous voice. He was clenching his fists and had a ferocious scowl on his face, already fearing the worst.  
  
"It says 'Meet me at dock number 7 if you wish the lovely lady sensai returned unharmed. I'm expecting you, Zanza, and you also, Battousai. Don't disappoint me. Kageboushi.'" Kenshin read to them in an outraged tone.  
  
Kaoru paled and sank to her knees. "Oh, no!" she gasped, looking horrified.  
  
"Megumi!" Dr. Gensai went to comfort her as she buried her face in her hands.  
  
Without another word, the two men and Yahiko gathered their weapons, and prepared to leave. 


	19. On the waterfront

Guy's Night Out  
Chapter 18?  
  
(AN: I think I lost track of my chapter count. I'll be damned if I'm going to go to all the trouble of editing just for that. Who cares anyway? It's all in order, courtesy of the uploading format on ff. Math was always my worse subject anyway. Deal with it, gentle readers.)  
  
To the men's surprise, there was a carriage pulling up to the gate of the Kamiya dojo.  
  
"Are you going to get in, or stand there looking idiotic as usual" said an ironic voice from inside. "Saitou!" said Sanosuke, jumping in first. Kenshin next, and Yahiko climbed up next to the driver.  
  
"We're heading directly for the docks," Kenshin informed him, handing him the note that Dr. Gensai had brought them minutes before.  
  
"As am I, Himura. I suspect that our man Kageboushi is making a potentially fatal error in his haste for vengeance, and I intend to make sure it is indeed, fatal." The police inspector's voice grew more silken as he contemplated that.  
  
"He is holding Megumi-dono hostage, Saitou," said Kenshin levelly. "She must not be risked any more than she already is."  
  
Sano said nothing, but gave the police inspector a smolderingly angry look and clenched his jaw. His lips were whitened with unconcealed rage.  
  
"I know," murmured Saitou, "Dr. Gensai sent his housekeeper to the local police station to report the incident this morning. I was there and overheard."  
  
"We'll be there soon, Sano." Kenshin knew that his friend was a man of great passions, but he'd never seen him so outwardly enraged. He was practically shaking with righteous anger. It came pouring out of his ki in huge violent waves that Kenshin could have detected a mile away.  
  
"That piece of dog shit is going to wish he'd never took his first breath," Sano hissed through clenched teeth.  
  
"Control yourself, Sagara," said Saitou. "You're wasting your fighting spirit on us. Save it for Kageboushi and his men." Sanosuke ground his teeth in frustration, realizing that Saitou was right, as much as he hated to admit it. He tried to rein in his all-consuming rage, and it took all his self-control.  
  
His mind was reeling with horrific images of some faceless fiend hurting his Megumi. Again. He made a low anguished noise in his throat. He had promised her she'd never have reason to fear again, and he'd failed her. He ground one fist into the other, using the slight pain to distract him from those thoughts. He had to get hold of his fears or he would be useless to the others.  
  
Kenshin glanced over at Saitou, who wore his usual pose of deceptive casualness. They could have been riding to a picnic for all his demeanor suggested. Only his eyes marred the impression, they were narrowed and gleaming like his nickname, the wolf. A hungry predator who was eagerly anticipating a kill.  
  
"We're almost there, sirs!" shouted down the driver. "Stop here, driver," ordered Saitou, "and wait for us. I promise you'll be compensated fairly."  
  
"Yessir!" the man replied. Yahiko jumped down from his seat atop, hand already holding his shinai, his young face set in grimly determined lines.  
  
They were at the waterfront, dock number seven, as specified it the note. Looking around carefully, they saw no one.  
  
"Looks as though we wait," said Saitou, lighting a cigarette he'd taken from a slim silver box in his jacket and inhaling deeply, then letting the smoke out slowly.  
  
Kenshin felt the muscles in his body go tense with effort as he stretched out his senses. He would not be caught off guard by Kageboushi's waiting game.  
  
Sano felt he would explode with rage and anxiety. He could take waiting no longer. Raising his fists and shaking them at their unseen enemies, he roared, "Come out, you stinking cowards! I'm tired of this game! Let's get it over with, assholes!"  
  
"Very effective, Sagara, I'm sure they're quaking with fear," drawled Saitou around his cigarette.  
  
"Shut the hell up!" Sano was fighting the urge to knock the cigarette out of the man's mouth, along with a few teeth.  
  
"Look!" Yahiko yelled, pointing. "A ship!"  
  
A sampan style ship was indeed coming their way. It would soon reach Dock number 7,where they were gathered.  
  
"That's why the docks," muttered Kenshin. "He's coming to meet with us by ship. He probably is holding Megumi-dono hostage on board, too."  
  
"He no doubt hires many smuggler's vessels for the opium trade." This from Saitou.  
  
They saw a large dinghy being lowered over the sampan's side, seemingly with people aboard. It settled into the harbor waters and after a few minutes that seemed an eternity to Sano, he could see that there were 5 men aboard and one female figure held between two of the men, bound and and foot, gagged and blindfolded.  
  
Sanosuke didn't know whether to feel relieved she was still alive, or to scream in outrage at her treatment at their hands.  
  
"Easy, Sano, don't loose your head now," warned Kenshin, stilling his friend with a hand. "This will be over soon."  
  
Saitou was gauging Sanosuke's reactions and he ground out his cigarette with his toe, thinking, "So, it's like that with the female sensai and this gangster. She's his lover. Not very subtle about it, is he?"  
  
Sano took a deep breath and finished Kenshin's words in his head. "Yes, one way or another, this will be over soon."  
  
The boat was rowed up to the dock, and with weapons drawn, it's occupants came ashore.  
  
Megumi was handed up like a sack of rice, unable to move much against her bonds. Still, she was obviously resisting as much as possible, twisting her head around and attempting to wriggle out of the grasp of the two men on either side of her.  
  
Kenshin pushed down his anger to observe the men. They were the same four officers they had observed at The White Tiger, it took him a second to recognize them out of their uniforms.  
  
Megumi was being held by the large man Sano had injured, Tanaka, and the moustached man called Hanahige. Hanahige had unsheathed his tanto and was holding it near Megumi's throat to ensure her cooperation.  
  
Furukizo and Saiyou stood on either side of a fifth man none of them had seen before. He was almost suprisingly pretty for a man, tall, slender and sleek looking in an expensively tailored black silk Western style suit.  
  
"Kageboushi." Saitou said the word quietly, but loud enough to be heard.  
  
"So, it seems introductions are unnecessary," purred the sleek man. "Good, that will save us from wasting more of my time."  
  
Sano's head jerked towards the Yakuza boss at those words.  
  
"Why Takani Megumi? Why did you do this to her?" he ground out.  
  
"Why not?" the gangster said dismissing Sano's question with a wave.  
  
"She was a perfect choice in many respects. She can identify me, for one thing, which is quite unhandy, now that I realize it. Also, she has her uses in my line of business. And, how better to remind you gentlemen that interfering in Yakuza business will not be tolerated. That pathetic display of skills the other night in attempting to follow my contact has strangely succeeded, ne? You get to meet me after all, but on my terms."  
  
During this speech, the man's cold silky tone never changed. He almost sounded bored. Sano remembered what Megumi had said about Kageboushi's aura of cold menace. She was right. This was a man who could order the torture and executions of a woman or child as one would order miso soup at a restaurant.  
  
"What are your terms to secure the release of Takani-sensai?" asked Saitou, suddenly, getting to the heart of the matter.  
  
"Another person who hates wasting time, I like that, Inspector Fujita," said Kagebouchi. "Or should I say, Saitou Hajime, the Wolf of Mibu, former assassin for the Shinshin-gumi.  
  
"Shall we get down to business, then?" said Saitou, matching his bored tone, "I have important work to finish in Kyoto, and this affair has already consumed much more of my time than I had anticipated."  
  
"Very well, then, enough chatting," Kageboushi said, a mild trace of irritation seeping into his silky tones.  
  
"My terms are this: I require a total withdrawal of the police investigation into Yakuza affairs in the Yokohama district, especially smuggling activities. Also, my contacts within the various city's police forces will not be interfered with in any way."  
  
"Unacceptable," murmured Saitou.  
  
"Take the woman and slit her throat, Hanahige, then throw her body into the harbor."  
  
Said as one would request a bowl of soup, just as Sanosuke had guessed.  
  
"No!" he roared, and leapt to intercept the hand of the man ordered to kill his beloved.  
  
Kenshin's hand and body reacted before his brain did, drawing his reverse blade sword in a heartbeat, and screaming out a low battle cry. He rushed at the large man with incredible speed. Tanaka, who was holding a now desperately squirming and moaning Megumi. He turned her head to the side so that Hanahige could dispatch her with one swift cut to the carotid artery.  
  
Saitou had also drawn his katana and taken the deceptively casual stance of his Gatotsu sword style. With a cunning smile on his lips, he silently beckoned the man with the scar to engage him in a fight. Furukizo grinned and pulled out his wakatashi first, and also a vicious looking katana.  
  
I was left to Yahiko to engage the wiry man armed with whirling nunchako.  
  
Kageboushi folded his arms and smiled a cold pleased smile. One would have thought from his expression that he was watching a kabuki performance.  
  
Kenshin's speed was more than a match for the big man holding Megumi. He came up under the man's jaw with the hilt of his sword before he could react, knocking him backwards with enough force to lift his feet off the ground for a second. Taking Megumi with him to the ground, he lay there stunned and unable to move. Megumi wiggled free of him and sat up, still struggling against her bonds.  
  
Sano likewise had made short work of Hanahige's knife attack, after a few near feints, Sano grabbed him smoothly with one hand by the elbow and forced the man's knife into his own neck. Sano held the point against the man's carotid as he had just seconds ago positioned Megumi to slaughter her. His other hand had an iron grip on the man's hair, bending back his head.  
  
"How does it feel to be on the other end of a tanto, asshole?" he sneered at the man.  
  
Hanahige failed to live up to his bosses' expectations as he whimpered like a pup in Sano's hard grasp. "I'll tell the inspector everything he wants to know, just don't kill me!" he shrieked.  
  
The knife feel from the man's now nerveless hand, and he continued to plead in a pathetic fashion.  
  
"Why don't you hang around while we finish playing?" snarled Sano, holding his foot on the man and suddenly plunging the knife through his hand and into the heavy wooden planks of the dock. The man screamed like a child and writhed against the pain.  
  
Sano ran over where Megumi was still struggling, and with fumbling hands untied her gag, and blindfold.  
  
"Megumi-itoshii, are you all right?" he asked anxiously. She nodded with teary eyes, unable to speak yet, indicating that he should remove the rest of the ties around her wrists and ankles.  
  
Sano looked around, and Kenshin was next to them in a heartbeat, and used the tip of the sakabattou to quickly severe the bonds. Sano grabbed her wrists and rubbed them gently them to get the circulation back. She attempted to get to her feet, but her blood deprived feet made her falter halfway up. Sano quickly steadied her and held her up against him.  
  
Kenshin looked around him, ever alert, standing guard over his friends.  
  
Saitou was playing with Furukizo the way a large tomcat plays with a mouse. Furukizo had several shallow cuts on his arms and a bleeding thigh, but he was still on his feet and fighting fiercely, although breathing heavily. Saitou, on the other hand, seemed to be barely exerting himself, even enjoying the diverting contest. He lunged repeatedly, scoring again and again upon the scarred man. Very few swordsmen in Japan could stand for long against the former Shinshin- gumi assassin, and Furukizo was outmatched from the first. Finally, with one final attack, the scarred man was impaled upon Saitou's katana, through the heart, fatally wounded. Saitou flicked his sword to remove it, and flicked it again to release the blood. The scarred man groaned out his last breath upon the planks of the dock, blood pouring out swiftly from the wound in his chest.  
  
"Pathetic," was Saitou's only comment as he reached in his jacket pocket for another cigarette. He lit up, sucking in smoke. "To think that we hire such incompetents."  
  
Yahiko was working hard to disarm the slender man attacking him with the set of nunchako, seeking to discover the man's timing so that he might insert his shinai at the right time and point to break the man's rhythmic attack.  
  
Finally, after many feints and dodges, he saw his opening. He thrust his shinai forward and the man's grasp on the spinning weapon was broken, and the nunchako went flying wildly across the planks of the dock.  
  
From there, it was quick work for Yahiko to pursue the now weaponless fighter and dispatch him into unconsciousness with a swift blow to base of the neck.  
  
That left Kageboushi, but he was nowhere to be seen. During the distraction of the fighting, he had ran to the dinghy and lowered himself into it, and was rowing back to the sampan.  
  
"He's getting away!" yelled Sano, ready to jump in after the man.  
  
"Not exactly," said Saitou, pointing to the deck of the sampan. There on the deck, just discernible, were about a dozen blue uniforms of the Oniwaban-shu ninjas, waiting for the fleeing gangster.  
  
The tall lean form with an arm raised in acknowledgement was none other than Shinomura Aoshi.  
  
"I believe that Kageboushi-san is going to be having a long and painful discussion with the Oniwaban-shu," smirked Saitou, grinding out his cigarette and reaching for another. 


	20. New moon, old feelings

Guy's Night Out  
Chapter 19  
  
Before long, representatives from the Tokyo police showed up to investigate. A few words from "Inspector Fujita" seemed to satisfy them, and they took away the bodies, both alive and dead, of the duplicitous police officers who were in fact, Yakuza informants.  
  
Saitou came over the group composed of Sano, still supporting a pale Megumi, with Kenshin and Yahiko standing attendance.  
  
"Takani-sensai," Saitou began, "There will be charges pressed against these men, I assure you. At least the three who survived will be charged. The others have already satisfied the demands of justice by surrendering their worthless lives."  
  
"I should hope so, Fujita-san" replied Megumi. Although still pale, she was gradually recovering the sensation in her hands and feet, and was able to move again.  
  
"Your deposition will be required in this matter, but perhaps that can wait until you have recovered more fully. You may make use of the carriage." Saying this, he bowed slightly, turned and left.  
  
"Megumi, you're all right, aren't you, they didn't... hurt you?" Sano couldn't bring himself to ask further.  
  
"Not really," she replied. "Just bruises and stiffness. I know what you're thinking, Sanosuke, but don't worry, I wasn't touched, not that way."  
  
She patted his hand in a reassuring way. In truth, she was fighting an overwhelming urge to hold onto him like there was no tomorrow, but she wasn't comfortable expressing their private relationship in front of their friends.  
  
Sano felt like he could breath again. "If that bastard had touched you, I'd make sure that when Aoshi is through with him, I'd start over again."  
  
"I got the distinct impression that Kageboushi-san's um, interests, lie elsewhere," Megumi said, with a hint of old kitsune slyness coming back to her eyes and voice.  
  
"Can you walk now, Megumi-dono, or do you require some assistance?" asked Kenshin, still concerned.  
  
"I'm fine, Ken-san, really. As fine as one can be after being treated like a piece of luggage, that is."  
  
"You must have been very scared, Megumi-san," said Yahiko to her, softly, crouching down in front of her. He had a big soft spot for the lady doctor who had saved his life when he had been poisoned.  
  
"I suppose I was, Yahiko-chan," she replied, reaching out to ruffle his hair a bit. He blushed. "But, I kept telling myself my friends would be there to come for me soon enough. I had to be brave. And see, you came, didn't you?"  
  
Suddenly, her eyes overflowed with tears as her well-known poise dissolved. "I'm so sorry," she apologized, covering her face.  
  
Warm strong arms lifted her and there was no protest as she was placed carefully into the waiting carriage to go home.  
  
Kaoru insisted that Dr. Gensai's housekeeper bring some of Megumi's things to the dojo and that she stay there for a few days.  
  
"You should not go back to your house so soon, there may be bad memories there now. And, you should not be alone." Kaoru told her, handing her friend a cup of hot tea and some light food. Megumi was sitting in a borrowed yukata of Kaorus after a badly desired bath, while her own clothes were waiting to be cleaned.  
  
"You can stay with me in my room, Megumi," Kaoru offered.  
  
"Watch out, though, Busu snores," Yahiko said, coming into the room.  
  
"I do NOT snore, Myojin Yahiko!" Kaoru said to him through gritted teeth, trying to restrain her temper for the sake of her guest.  
  
"Kaoru-chan, I'll be fine, even if you do snore. I'm used to it." She said this tiredly, without thinking. She couldn't remember feeling this tired in a long time.  
  
Kaoru gave her a puzzled look out of the corner of her eyes, but said nothing.  
  
"You poor woman, you must be exhausted," said Kaoru, her well-known compassion coming to the fore. I'll make up a futon for you while you finish that."  
  
"Thank you, Kaoru-chan," said Megumi listlessly. She realized that she was experiencing the lethargy that comes after one has had a shock to the body's systems.  
  
"Hey, there, Fox, feeling better?" Sano slouched in the doorway with a questioning hopeful look on his face.  
  
He'd held her in the carriage all the way home, as though he feared that she'd be stolen from him again, saying nothing.  
  
When they got to the dojo, Kaoru had taken over, embracing her friend and taking her to the bath immediately to refresh herself after her ordeal.  
  
Sano and Kenshin had gone to the kitchen for tea, sending Yahiko to heat the water for the small bath house.  
  
"You're very quiet, Sano, that you are," Kenshin observed, handing him tea.  
  
His tall friend said nothing, sitting and sipping tea. His hands clenched around the cup, and he refused to meet Kenshin's eye.  
  
"I'm used to this from Aoshi, that I am, but not from Sano," said Kenshin to him gently.  
  
"I never thought that someone I care about would have to suffer for anything I've done," said Sano quietly, after a long moment. "Those thugs took her because of my working for the police, I just know it!" said Sano. He put down the teacup he'd been holding as though afraid of smashing the fragile porcelain between his fingers.  
  
"I too, feel some responsibility for what happened to Megum-dono," sighed Kenshin, also putting down his cup.  
  
"I think I truly understand why Saitou-san lets few people know his real name," said Kenshin. "He seeks to protect his family, for he has many enemies still from the Revolution."  
  
"Is that the way it will always be for some of us, Kenshin?" asked Sano plaintively. He sighed and picked up his cup again.  
  
"One day, I'm sure that the past will finally be put to rest, Sano. By the time of our children and grandchildren, things will be different." That was a question that plagued not an inconsiderable amount of Kenshin's days and nights, also.  
  
He looked at his friend curiously. Something indefinable had changed about Sano, perhaps, he thought, boyish brashness and carelessness of attitude was beginning to be replaced with questioning and introspection.  
  
The two friends sat in companionable and quiet silence, sipping tea and each reflecting in their own fashion upon the past.  
  
Sagara Sanosuke couldn't sleep. It wasn't Yahiko's light snoring, he'd slept through worse noise in his time.  
  
Kenshin had retired hours ago, and the house was quiet, save the ordinary noises of nighttime.  
  
Softly he padded on bare feet to the back porch of the dojo. Maybe some fresh air would induce sleep, although he doubted it. It was not lack of air that troubled him.  
  
His rage when he thought Megumi had been taken from him, possibly forever, astounded him. There was only one other time he could remember feeling such helpless fear and overwhelming rage, and that was the night his mentor, Captain Sagara, and almost all of the Seikihotai squad had been massacred practically in front of his eyes.  
  
Though still in reality a child when it occured, it was the defining moment of his existence; his true birthright that had caused him to be exactly what he was today. A man many people feared, some loved as a loyal brother, and one whom no one on the streets or elsewhere would ever defame again without feeling retribution at his hands.  
  
He gazed down at his hands, flexing them carefully. They were the hands of Zanza, who had fought and killed for hire with little care or conscience. Now they were the hands of Sagara Sanosuke. It was up to him to make sure those hands were capable of more than maiming and killing, and then perhaps, he could and would deserve the love that a certain woman had so freely offered him.  
  
He heard the soft sound of the shooji opening behind him, and looked over his shoulder.  
  
"Lonely without me, nushi?" Megumi asked him with a slight echo of her foxy smile.  
  
"Yes," he answered simply, holding out a hand.  
  
She took it and sat beside him in the darkness. Now that they were alone, she put her arms tightly around him and buried her head in his shoulder. The terror of the last hours began to fade, and she quietly told Sano of how Kageboushi's men had abducted her in the night from her house.  
  
"I was in the kitchen, washing up a few things, and they were there, coming in from the back yard. The one with the scar, although his lower face was covered, I could see the scar on the side of his face came at me. I hit him with a pan, but there were four of them, Sano. Four men to take a small woman such as myself. What filthy cowards!  
  
I didn't even have time to scream before they had gagged me and were tying me up like a fowl to roast!" her voice was indignant as she remembered their rough hands and their muffled voices in the dark.  
  
Sano smiled briefly, remembering Megumi and her lethal getta, knocking a man out with her wooden sandal.  
  
"They took me to the docks, that I could tell because of the smells," she said, wrinkling her nose in remembrance. "Then we were rowed out to that sampan. Kageboushi remembered the two times I'd seen him at Kanryuu's mansion. Frankly, I thought he'd kill me right then. Then I realized I was the bait to lure you, Kenshin, perhaps even Saitou and Aoshi. Kageboushi is still working with Kanryuu, outside the country, Sano. He paid Kageboushi to lure us there to be killed. All of us." She shuddered. "He's not gone."  
  
"We'll be safe, Megumi. I promise you that. And Kageboushi is giving the fish in Tokyo harbor indigestion by now, thanks to the Icicle."  
  
"I don't know if I can go back to my house alone, nushi." It was a hard admission for her. "Now its tainted with bad memories."  
  
"We'll make some good memories there, fox," he said softly into her hair.  
  
Alone under the cover of the new moon's darkness, he kissed her fears away and held his lady tightly, enjoying the nearness of her, and in the simple fact of being. 


	21. Lessons in love

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter 20  
  
(AN: These last chapters will be pure lime fluff. Yes, gentle readers and critics alike, it's almost over, sniffles or hurrah, depending on how you liked it. For all those who are begging for more cavities. I love happy endings, at least for this kind of story, don't you?)  
  
Two weeks after the incident with Kageboushi and life was more or less back to normal for the Kenshin-gumi.  
  
Of course, normal is a relative word as applied to those living and visiting the Kamiya Dojo. A legendary former Imperialist assassin and a female kenjutsu instructor raising an orphaned samurai boy do not have a typical home, no matter how much laundry they do, how many dinners they ruin, or how many longing glances they cast at each other when the other one's back is turned. For these two, love and marriage would not be the usual expected, arranged and socially proper affair that most individuals of their time and place enjoyed, but something as unconventional and unexpected as one could imagine.  
  
It had been a trying day for Yahiko, again. He found himself wondering for at least the hundredth time that day whether there were two more lame- brained adults in the whole city of Tokyo, or in Japan, for that matter, with which he could be living.  
  
Breakfast was staring and blushing and "accidental" meetings of hands over the tea cups and dishes. Lunch was more of the same, only with longer staring. deeper blushes and more lingering touches of hands. Dinner was going to be intolerably filled with even more of the same mush, Yahiko supposed, so he made his excuses and left to seek his meal elsewhere.  
  
"I think we're embarrassing Yahiko-chan," giggled Kaoru, helping Kenshin clear the dishes away from their dinner. Actually, not that much had been eaten, because there had been certain distractions from the food.  
  
That little chore accomplished, they were alone. No Yahiko to scold, assign chores to and to serve as an unwitting chaperone. Kaoru realized that presented possibilities, but her inexperience in matters of anything romantic was a obstacle of seemingly immense proportions to overcome to get to her objective: the heart of a certain red- haired samurai.  
  
They had shared a few kisses, petting and embraces in rare moments alone, and she found herself wondering if she was doing things correctly, pleasingly enough. Kenshin seemed pleased enough with her attempts at demonstrating her love, but then, she thought, he seemed pleased when she scolded him for tearing his clothes or staying out in the rain.  
  
He was a hard one to read, that was for sure. She could be lousy at the whole thing and he would no doubt continue to smile and tell her she was the most beautiful woman ever, and that he loved her just as she was.  
  
These thoughts ran quickly through her mind as she sat on the porch of the dojo next to him. They were holding hands and every so often, he'd reach over and run his fingers through the ends of her ponytail, or smooth a non- existant wrinkle in her kimono sleeve. Anything to touch her, to be near her.  
  
There was little talking. Kaoru had learned months ago that there were two Kenshin modes of conversation. He was in the second mode, now, occasionally making a irrelevant comments about the days activities, but mostly saying nothing and smiling a lot. Serving no purpose but to put her at ease and be pleasant. The other Kenshin was intense, passionate and gave speeches about his feelings and ideals. She loved both.  
  
She worked up the courage to ask him her question. "Kenshin, do I please you?"  
  
"Please me?" he asked back at her. "In what way? Sessha is pleased with you in every way, that I am." He smiled the rurouni smile at her, almost squeezing shut his violet blue eyes with the gesture.  
  
That wasn't what she wanted. She persisted. "In ways of showing love." She said, her voice dropping with embarrassment. He looked at her, slightly shocked. She could tell by the way his jaw dropped a little and he stared for a second. "Sessha is no authority in the ways of love himself, that I am not," that made him blush, hard to hide with his lighter coloring.  
  
"Oh, but, you were married, Kenshin. That gives you the advantage in knowledge. I apologize if my ignorance offends you in some way."  
  
"Was she serious?" he thought, looking at her. She was. Her head was averted in an apologetic fashion, looking at the step between her sandals.  
  
"I suppose," he said, clearing his throat a little, "that there are things that both of us may have to, um, learn, koishii." The endearment came easier to his tongue, now. "I was only fifteen years when I met Tomoe. Not that much older than Yahiko- chan is now. I can tell you that fifteen year olds know next to nothing about love, Kaoru. Especially fifteen year olds raised by Shishio Hiko."  
  
Kenshin cast his mind back to his adolescence. Certainly, Hiko had informed him of the physical aspects of what transpired between men and women, but talk of romance, love or feelings was not ground that was often tread upon by the reclusive genius.  
  
"I came to love Tomoe as much as I was able to love anyone then, but whether I was pleasing in matters of love is something we did not speak about." He said this looking at the ground, not looking at her for fear of increasing her embarrassment.  
  
She felt relieved by his admission, loving him all the more for lessening her fears. A small humbling of himself for her sake. It touched her immensely.  
  
"So, I please you?" she asked again. He had to laugh a bit at that. "You are a persistent one, aren't you?" he asked teasingly.  
  
"If I were not, I'd not be sitting here practically in your lap, Himura Kenshin, talking of love!" she retorted, slapping his hand lightly. It had been resting on hers lightly as he laughed.  
  
At that, he reclaimed her hand, and pressed it to his lips. Turning it over, he kissed the palm lightly. She offered the other one for him to bless. He did, moving his lips up to kiss the pulse point at her wrist. Peeking up under his bangs at her, he looked for her approval to continue and received it.  
  
"What about this one?" she asked innocently. She offered her other wrist for his attentions. He smiled gently and kissed it, too.  
  
"I need a kiss here," she said, pointing to her rosy mouth. He obliged again, a light kiss was placed on her lips.  
  
"More," she said, sounding like a child wanting more cake. He kissed her again, this time more sensuously, slanting his mouth across hers and taking a long taste of her. She gasped, but slowly did the same to him. The game was becoming more serious and he felt himself becoming slightly aroused. Kaoru was flushed, her mouth still slightly opened, looking at him in wonder.  
  
"I feel warm in my stomach," she whispered placing her hand below her navel. "That happens," he said, marveling that she was so open.  
  
"We should stop this, or more things will happen," he whispered to her.  
  
"Will it feel like this?" she asked. "Yes, only more so," he replied.  
  
"I don't want to stop, then," she said, meeting his eyes for a second and then pressing her head against his shoulder.  
  
"Could women trained in the arts of pleasure be more seductive than this?" he wondered, looking at her. She trusted him completely and had offered her innocence to him willingly. Nothing in his experience prepared him for that heady combination.  
  
"I could not accept such a gift, Kaoru, unless we were married," he said to her seriously. "Where did that come from?" he asked himself, and in the same thought answered his own question, "Your heart, idiot."  
  
"Are you going to marry me, Kenshin?" she asked equally serious in demeanor.  
  
"Yes, I suppose I am," he replied.  
  
"Is this how most girls get proposed to, do you think?" she asked him taking his hand and lovingly kissing it.  
  
"I have no idea, Kaoru."  
  
"Can we do more things, now?" she asked him.  
  
"A few more things will be all right to try, koishii," he chuckled again. Gods, she was driving him wild with these questions.  
  
"Show me, Kenshin, I want to please you." She slid her hands onto his chest and looked deeply into his eyes.  
  
"We're outside on the porch, anata, so I can't show you too much."  
  
He began to kiss her again, pulling out the ribbon that held her hair, and then allowed her to pull down his gi, where she began to place small kisses on his neck, collarbone and chest. He sighed and leaned back onto the porch. She came with him, still kissing him, and his hands slid down from her waist to cup her behind and pull her closer. Their own panting breaths and murmuring filled their ears. One hand reached up to push down her kimono...  
  
"Could you two please do that somewhere else!" came an aggrieved adolescent voice from behind them.  
  
"ORO!" said Kenshin, coming up for air with Kaoru still plastered against him. Her hair was loose and her kimono was coming open in front. Kenshin's top was completely off and hanging by his waist band.  
  
Yahiko stomped by them and went into the dojo without another word.  
  
"No more lessons on the porch, koishii!" he said, breathlessly. 


	22. Making a new memory

Guy's Night Out  
  
Chapter 21  
  
He hadn't left her alone at night since she'd been taken by Kageboushi's men. Damn propriety, and damn what anyone said.  
  
Although, he thought to himself, among people of his own class, marriage was nothing more than what he and Megumi had been doing for months, simply moving in together with little ceremony and living their lives. For people like themselves with no family to please, such things were common enough anymore.  
  
He knew that if her family was still alive, things might have been quite different for a woman of her background, no doubt an arranged and formal marriage to some suitable man of similar status and interests. Or, perhaps she would have chosen to practice her profession to the exclusion of a personal life and remain unmarried, unusual as that would have been for a woman of her grace and beauty.  
  
Kenshin and Kaoru had legalized and publicly celebrated their marriage a month or so ago, a simple enough thing it had been. Sano and Megumi and others of their circle, including Aoshi and Misao from Kyoto, had been there for the brief blessing over sake, and changing formally into marriage clothes. Other than that, it was simply a celebration among friends.  
  
Jou-chan had looked happy enough, thought Sano, and Kenshin was smiling a lot. But then, he had always smiled a lot. The difference was that now it seemed to be much less of a polite mask.  
  
"Are you going to sit there on the porch brooding all night?" he heard Megumi's voice asking behind him. He turned to look at her.  
  
"I'm not brooding, I'm thinking, there's a difference," he retorted.  
  
"Try not to hurt yourself too badly," she snickered behind her hand. "I may be a doctor, but there's only so much I can do."  
  
"I was thinking about you, so it was a little painful," he said, winking at her, rising to the bait once again.  
  
He was glad to have his old foxy back, teasing barbs and all. She'd been far too quiet after he'd brought her back to her small house. His mind went back to that day.  
  
After a few days at the dojo, Megumi was more than ready to come home. She missed her house, and her things, and was physically feeling fine.  
  
Being an observant woman, she also had decided that Ken-san and Kaoru needed much less company than they currently had. She'd rarely seen two people trying so hard to hide the fact that they wanted to be alone together. She only hoped Yahiko had enough tact to find excuses to leave often.  
  
With Sano carrying her things, she returned home. It seemed that Genzai- sensai's housekeeper had tidied things up for her. All the signs of the struggle in the kitchen that night were gone. Save one.  
  
She went into that room last, after putting her things away. Sano was watching her with concerned eyes, but so far, she was her usual self. A bit quiet, but she was hardly the hysterical type, he thought.  
  
Taking a deep breath, she ventured into the small kitchen. Sano stood in the doorway while she knelt down and touched her things, making sure they were all there. Unexpectedly, Megumi put her hands up to her face and made a oddly strangled sound.  
  
He was there in a heartbeat, putting an arm around her and trying to peer into her face. "What is it, what's wrong?" he asked with frantic concern.  
  
She looked at him between her fingers, and he suddenly realized that she was convulsed with laughter, not weeping. "Look!" she said, pointing at something metal hanging on the wall.  
  
He looked. It was a large pan for cooking rice, badly dented on one side.  
  
"That's the pan I hit Scarface with," she said gasping with laughter.  
  
"Dammit, Megumi, you scared the hell outta me, I thought you were having a fit or sumthin!" he said in an aggrieved tone. "I won't be doing any cooking with that thing," she said, still mirthful. "Maa, that was my best pan, too. Now I'll have to get a new one."  
  
Sano shook his head slowly. Unpredictable fox as always, he thought. Here he'd been expecting tears and panic and she was laughing her head off over a dented pan.  
  
"Maybe we'll keep this one around just for whacking Yakuza henchmen," said Sano, chuckling, her laughter infecting him.  
  
"Let's hope the opportunity doesn't arise again," she said, her face growing serious again.  
  
He frowned. He had enjoyed seeing those fox ears for a few minutes.  
  
"It won't happen again, I already promised you that," he rose and helped her up.  
  
"So, you've appointed yourself my personal bodyguard," she said, a bit archly.  
  
He grinned down at her, "I've never seen a body I'd rather be guarding," he said, eyes glinting as his glance traveled down her willowy frame.  
  
"Is that all you can think of?" she said, slapping him lightly on the hand. It had begun to roam from her shoulder to her waist, pulling her in press against him.  
  
"Yes," he said, kissing her fully on the mouth before she could say anything else. She resisted for a brief second, pushing against his arms, but his insistence won. She relented and allowed him access to her lips and tongue. Never breaking the deep kiss, he guided her gently to the floor.  
  
She broke the kiss by turning her head abruptly to gasp at him, "In the kitchen?" and he growled, " Why not? It's the only room in the house where we haven't done this!" before claiming her mouth again. She shrugged mentally and turned her full attention to matching his seeking mouth and passionate touches.  
  
Clothing was pushed aside, and finally shed entirely, as were any lingering inhibitions. There wasn't an inch of her body he didn't give his complete attention to with kisses and caresses. She ardently returned his attentions and finally, they were joined completely and intimately in body and soul.  
  
In her kitchen, in the midmorning of a warm Tokyo summer, he replaced a memory of fear with one of love and passion.  
  
He was shining with sweat, completely spent and still lying there when she sat up, and pulled his gi over her naked torso. "Where you goin'?" he asked, his voice still husky with recent exertions. "Just to do this," she said. She looked adorable with the sleeves of his gi hanging over her fingers, pushing them up. She took the dented pan off the wall and opening the door to the back yard, threw it outside. He heard a soft clang as it hit the ground.  
  
"It was spoiling the mood," she said. He chuckled at her, and stretched out his hand to her to join him again on the floor.  
  
"I'll never be able to cook in here again without blushing," she said, taking his hand, and kneeling next to him again.  
  
"Suits me," he said. "I like the idea of you cooking and thinking about me."  
  
"You just like the idea of me cooking you anything," she joked.  
  
"Well, I am getting kind of hungry," he admitted.  
  
She rolled her eyes at him. "Do I look like I'm ready to do any cooking?"  
  
"I don't know, you look fine to me," he said, enjoying the view of her wrapped in his shirt. "I may make you wear that all the time."  
  
"I doubt if there's a thing to eat in this house, I've been gone for days, you know," she said to him.  
  
"Well, get yer clothes on and we'll go to see Tae at the Akabeko, my treat," he said, reaching for his pants. "I hate to say it, but I'll be needing that, too" he said, pointing to his gi.  
  
"Your treat?" she questioned.  
  
"Sure, Kenshin and I got paid pretty well. The police were very grateful for us helping to put Kageboushi outta business. Don't tell anyone, but I think that Jou-chan and him are going to finally tie the knot."  
  
"You're probably the last person in Tokyo to figure that out, Sagara Sanosuke," she replied, picking up her clothes and shaking them to try to get out the slight wrinkles.  
  
"Hey, I catch on, sooner or later," he protested.  
  
"We really should take a bath," she said, trying to smooth her hair.  
  
"Okay, we can do that first," he said, looking at her. Her current disarray looked wonderful to him, but he knew she'd never allow herself to be seen in public any way less than perfectly groomed. Visions of a wet and naked fox were making him forget about his stomach and focus on another kind of hunger.  
  
"You don't mind me taking you there, just the two of us," he suddenly asked, his eyes questioning.  
  
"No, of course I don't mind," she said quietly, smiling at him. "You're behaving as if I had some sort of reputation as a grand lady to live up to, idiot."  
  
"Okay, if yer sure, fox," he said, "People are gonna start saying things, ya know."  
  
"They already are saying things, rooster," she replied. "I for one, do not care, nor does it make any difference. I love you, and I don't care who know s it." She tossed back her long black hair for emphasis.  
  
"Now," she said, "Let's have that bath."  
  
The End 


End file.
